Abstract
When the pathophysiology of a medical condition is multimodal, ie, related to multiple
physiological causes or mediated by multiple pathways, the optimal strategy can be
to use a drug or a combination of drugs that contribute multiple mechanisms to the
therapeutic endpoint. In such situations, a rational multimodal approach can also
result in the fewest adverse effects. We discuss the quantitative analysis of multimodal
action using the treatment of pain as a practical example and give examples of its
application to some widely used analgesic drugs.
Perspective
This article reviews the medical relevance of the quantitative evaluation of drug
combinations, using pain and combinations of analgesics as specific examples. Such
measure can help clinicians who seek to maximize therapeutic effect while simultaneously
minimizing adverse effects.
Key words
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: March 25, 2010
Footnotes
Supported in part by NIH grant DA13429–09 (R.J.T.).
Identification
Copyright
© 2010 American Pain Society. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
