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Part of the book series: Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology ((AEMB,volume 97))

Abstract

During the past several years it has become generally accepted that the incidence of adverse reactions to drugs in patients increase with age (1–3). However, the reasons for the increased incidence are frequently obscure and often differ with the drug. Sometimes the increased incidence appears to be related to physiological changes that alter the responsiveness of action sites in tissues, whereas at other times it appears to be related to changes in pharmacokinetic factors that govern the concentration of the drug at the action sites. It seems likely, however, that the increased incidence is due to a combination of both of these kinds of changes that occur with age and it is frequently not evident which kind is the most important in any given instance.

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Gillette, J.R., Hinson, J.A. (1978). Biotransformation of Drugs. In: Roberts, J., Adelman, R.C., Cristofalo, V.J. (eds) Pharmacological Intervention in the Aging Process. Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology, vol 97. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4684-7793-1_2

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