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Hypersensitivity:
Hypersensitivity:
The physiological state necessary for a subject's manifesting an allergic response or reaction; the state is dependent on the administration of a hapten or allergen to a susceptible individual, and the development of antibodies and immune mechanisms capable of being activated by a subsequent administration of the haptene. Hypersensitivity may exist but not be manifested until a second administration of hapten occurs. The dose of hapten (or drug) required to produce the allergic response may be smaller, larger, or the same size as the dose required for the drug to produce its characteristic pharmacologic effects; hence hypersensitivity is not the same as sensitivity and the two words should not be used as synonyms. The nature of the response to haptene in a hypersensitive subject is determined by the immune mechanisms and effector organs and is not, in general, related to the nature of the hapten; the allergic response in the hypersensitive subject is generally qualitatively different from the expected pharmacodynamic response to the hapten or drug, being determined by the immune system, rather than by the receptor(s) that mediate that drug's pharmacodynamic effect.
Cf. Sensitivity, Allergic Response, Idiosyncratic Response
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