Hormesis, adaptation, and the sandpile model

Critical Reviews in Toxicology
Martha Stark

Abstract

Hormesis, characterized by stimulation (or inhibition) along some portion of the dose-response curve followed by its opposing action along some other portion of that curve, speaks to all those dose-response relationships characterized by a change in sign and reversal in direction of the curve as it progresses along the x axis (a nonmonotonic dose-response curve). Although this is better known in toxicology than in pharmacology, it behooves all clinicians to appreciate that if a particular dose of a medication is not efficacious, it does not necessarily follow that a higher dose will be more efficacious. The point of maximum stimulation (variable from individual to individual and variable within an individual over time) might be such that a lower dose of the medication would prove more therapeutic. Calabrese's hypothesis is that hormesis is a manifestation of the body's adaptive response to stress. This commentary emphasizes the importance of recognizing that such adaptations are always accomplished at some cost to the system in terms of its adaptation (nutrient and energetic) reserves. There is no gain without pain. Finally, the sandpile, a complex adaptive system whose evolution is characterized by iterative cycles of collapse...Continue Reading

References

Jul 10, 2002·Human & Experimental Toxicology·E J Calabrese, L A Baldwin
Oct 1, 1960·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·A Szent-Györgyi, I Isenberg

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Citations

Mar 25, 2011·Dose-response : a Publication of International Hormesis Society·G Martínez-SánchezA Giuliani
Oct 12, 2012·Biogerontology·S Chirumbolo
Mar 5, 2009·Medicinal Research Reviews·Velio BocciIacopo Zanardi
Oct 25, 2013·Pest Management Science·Raul Narciso C Guedes, G Christopher Cutler
Jul 25, 2015·Zeitschrift für Gerontologie und Geriatrie·Andreas Simm, Lars-Oliver Klotz
Aug 26, 2019·Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety·Silvério O CamposEliseu José G Pereira
Jan 1, 2017·Brain Circulation·Edward J CalabreseJames Giordano

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