Hormesis is central to toxicology, pharmacology and risk assessment

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Human & Experimental Toxicology

DOI: 10.1177/0960327109363973

Hum Exp Toxicol 2010; 29; 249

J Calabrese

Hormesis is central to toxicology, pharmacology and risk assessment

_http://het.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/29/4/249_

(http://het.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/29/4/249)

J Calabrese

Department of Public Health, Environmental Health Sciences Division,

University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA, USA, _edwardc@..._

(mailto:edwardc@...)

This paper summarizes numerous conceptual and experimental advances over

the past two decades in the study of hormesis. Hormesis is now generally

accepted as a real and reproducible biological phenomenon, being highly

generalized and independent of biological model, endpoint measured and chemical

class/physical stressor. The quantitative features of the hormetic dose

response are generally highly consistent, regardless of the model and

mechanism,

and represent a quantitative index of biological plasticity at multiple

levels of biological organization. The hormetic dose-response model has been

demonstrated to make far more accurate predictions of responses in low dose

zones than either the threshold or linear at low dose models. Numerous

therapeutic agents widely used by humans are based on the hormetic dose

response

and its low dose stimulatory characteristics. It is expected that as low

dose responses come to dominate toxicological research that risk assessment

practices will incorporate hormetic concepts in the standard setting

process.

Key Words: hormesis • hormetic • biphasic • U-shaped • adaptive

response

• inverted U-shaped

Human & Experimental Toxicology, Vol. 29, No. 4, 249-261 (2010)

DOI: 10.1177/0960327109363973