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The ED-50 (effective dose 50%) is the dose that causes an effect in 50% of the observed subjects. For ex- ample, the ED-50 of aspirin would be the dose that relieves headaches in 50% of the people observed.42 The TD-50 (toxic dose 50%) is defined as the dose that is toxic to 50% of the observed subjects. TD-50 is often used to indicate responses such as reduced enzyme activity, decreased reproductive success, or the onset of specific symptoms, such as hearing loss, nausea, or slurred speech. For a particular chemical, there may be a whole family of dose-response curves, as illustrated in Figure 10.14. Which dose is of interest depends on what is being evaluated? For example, for insecticides we may wish to know the dose that will kill 100% of the insects exposed; therefore, LD-95 (the dose that kills 95% of the insects) may be the minimum acceptable level.

 

However, when considering human health and exposure to a particular toxin, we often want to know the LD-0—the maximum dose that does not cause any deaths. For potentially toxic compounds, such as insecticides that may form a residue on food or food additives, we want to ensure that the expected levels of human exposure will have no known toxic effects. From an environmental perspective, this is important because of concerns about increased risk of cancer associated with exposure to toxic agents. For drugs used to treat a particular disease, the efficiency of the drug as a treatment is of paramount importance.

 

In addition to knowing what the effective dose (ED-50) is, it is important to know the drug’s relative safety. For example, there may be an overlap between the effective dose (ED) and the toxic dose (TD). That is, the dose that causes a positive therapeutic response in some individuals might be toxic to others. A quantitative measure of the relative safety of a particular drug is the therapeutic index, defined as the ratio of the LD-50 to the ED-50. The greater the therapeutic index, the safer the drug is believed to be.

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