What does drug disposition tolerance refer to?

Drug disposition tolerance refers to the phenomenon where an individual’s body becomes more efficient at metabolizing and eliminating a drug after chronic use. This can lead to a situation where the effects of the drug diminish over time because the body processes and clears the drug more quickly, requiring higher doses to achieve the same effects.

In essence, it is the body's adaptation to a drug in such a way that it decreases the concentration of the drug in the bloodstream more rapidly, thus reducing its efficacy. This is often a common response to substances like alcohol or opioids, where prolonged exposure leads to adjustments in metabolic processes that alter how the drug is handled in the body.

This phenomenon is distinct from other types of tolerance, such as learned adaptations, altered sensitivity, or tolerance that develops simply from chronic use without specific changes in metabolism. In each of those cases, the underlying mechanisms differ significantly from the specific metabolic adaptations seen with drug disposition tolerance.