Toxicology basic principles

A drug product, therefore, must satisfy stability criteria chemically, toxicologically, therapeutically, and physically. Basic principles in pharmaceutical kinetics can often be applied to anticipate and quantify the... 

The basic principle of toxicology, as first noted by the Swiss physician Paracelsus, is that the dose makes the poison. While this principle is easy to understand, the processes used to understand the relationships between dose and biological response, and ultimately to determine what dose of a chemical poses a reasonable certainty of no harm , are much more complicated. 

The main emphasis is paid to the identification of the basic principles for combined actions and interactions of chemicals (Section 10.2), and to the current knowledge on effects of exposures to mixtures of industrial chemicals, including pesticides and environmental contaminants. Test strategies to assess combined actions and interactions of chemicals in mixtures (Section 10.3) as well as toxicological test methods (Section 10.4) are addressed, approaches used in the assessment of chemical mixtures are presented (Section 10.5), and examples of experimental studies using simple, well-defined mixtures are given (Section 10.6). 

The absorption, distribution, and subsequent health effects of lead illustrate the basic principles of toxicology. Foremost is the sensitivity of children to the adverse... 

UV radiation illustrates the basic principles of toxicology in that individual sensitivity varies greatly, and it is best to limit your dose (exposure) to control your response. The challenge is to understand and manage the risk and benefits of our individual exposure and resulting acute and long-term effects. 

The objective of the book has always been to form a sound introduction to the basic principles of the subject from a biochemical and mechanistic viewpoint. It is a testament to the vitality and progression of toxicology that the increasing sophistication, complexity, and expansion of the subject mean that revision of at least parts of this book is essential every few years. However, a book of this size cannot realistically cover all of the diverse aspects of toxicology in equal depth and detail and include all the new developments that are occurring, hence the extensive bibliography, which should be used to complement this text where more detail or other examples are wanted. 

The expectation of combined effects from mixture exposure is most often founded in the basic principles of toxicology and pharmacology (Loewe and Muischnek 1926a Bliss 1939 Plackett and Hewlett 1952). The first strictly pharmacological ideas formulated (Loewe and Muischnek 1926a) were supplemented by biometrical considerations. Later, Bliss (1939), a biologist and a biometrician, provided the first consistent framework, as depicted in Table 5.2 (Plackett and Hewlett 1952). In this framework, the main ideas focused on the presence or absence of interactions (commonly referred to as interactive and noninteractive joint action) with respect to responses observed in test organisms, and the presence of the same or a different mode of action. 

The basic principles of toxicology are applicable across product classes. It is the specific attributes of the product that have the greatest influence on the successful practice of biopharmaceutical toxicology (see Table 3.2). This focus on product attributes has defined the case-by-case approach. Table 3.3 provides a further definition of the case-by-case approach (see Table 3.3). 

Puschner, B., Humbert, J.F. (2007). Cyanobacterial (blue-green algae) toxins. In Veterinary Toxicology Basic and Clinical Principles (R.C. Gupta, ed.), pp. 714-25. Academic/Elsevier Press, London. 

This text is a comprehensive collection of concise and readable explanations of basic principles in toxicology and the potential hazards of chemicals. It contains more than 1000 entries, including entries related to research and clinical toxicology, risk assessment, ecotoxicology, epidemiology, radiation, noise, information resources, organizations, and education. As with the 1st edition, this volume is extensively cross-referenced, contains a detailed index, and provides numerous references to primary and secondary literature. 

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