Hormesis quantitative features

Figure 26.1. Hormesis may be defined as a dose-response relationship that is characterized by a biphasic (J- or inverted U-shaped) response. The quantitative features of the typical hermetic responses are similar, with the magnitude of the maximum stimulatory response typically being 30-60% greater than controls, the width of the stimulatory or hermetic zone averaging approximately 10-fold, and the interval from the zero equivalent point to the maximum stimulation averaging four- to fivefold (Calabrese and Blain 2005). [Figure adapted from Nascarella et al. (2009).]...

Although now there are numerous articles citing hormesis in various scientific databases, there are numerous other terms that have been used to describe dose-response relationships with the same quantitative features of the hormetic dose response. These similar descriptive terms include Yerkes-Dodson Law, nonmonotonic dose-response, nonlinear dose response, J-shaped dose-response, U-shaped dose-response, biphasic dose-response, BELL- haped dose-response, functional antagonism, hormologosis, overcompensation, rebound effect, bitonic, dual effect, bidirectional effect, bimodal effects, Amdt- chulz Law, Hueppe s Rule, and subsidy... 

These observations should not have lead to a refutation of the Arndt-Schulz Law but to a more refined understanding of its temporal features along with its implications for the quantitative features of the dose response. Yet instead of offering such a biological-based refinement that could account for the low dose stimulatory response, leaders in the field rejected the Arndt-Schulz Law and the hormesis concept and the fields of pharmacology, toxicology, and radiation health followed their lead. 

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