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Drug resistance
Drug resistance
is the reduction in effectiveness of a drug such as an
antimicrobial
,
anthelmintic
or an
antineoplastic
in curing a
disease
or condition. When the drug is not intended to kill or inhibit a
pathogen
, then the term is equivalent to
dosage failure
or
drug tolerance
. More commonly, the term is used in the context of resistance that
pathogens
have "acquired", that is, resistance has evolved.
Antimicrobial resistance
and
antineoplastic resistance
challenge clinical care and drive research. When an organism is resistant to more than one drug, it is said to be
multidrug-resistant
. Even the
immune system
of an organism is in essence a
drug delivery
system, albeit
endogenous
, and faces the same
arms race
problems as external drug delivery.
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