Augmentation, in the context of the pharmacological management of
psychiatry
Psychiatry is the medical specialty devoted to the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of deleterious mental disorder, mental conditions. These include matters related to cognition, perceptions, Mood (psychology), mood, emotion, and behavior.
...
, refers to the combination of two or more
drug
A drug is any chemical substance other than a nutrient or an essential dietary ingredient, which, when administered to a living organism, produces a biological effect. Consumption of drugs can be via insufflation (medicine), inhalation, drug i ...
s to achieve better treatment results. Examples include:
*Prescribing an atypical antipsychotic when someone is already taking a
selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor
Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are a class of drugs that are typically used as antidepressants in the treatment of major depressive disorder, anxiety disorders, and other psychological conditions.
SSRIs primarily work by blo ...
for the treatment of
depression.
*Prescribing
estrogen
Estrogen (also spelled oestrogen in British English; see spelling differences) is a category of sex hormone responsible for the development and regulation of the female reproductive system and secondary sex characteristics. There are three ...
for someone already being treated with
antipsychotic
Antipsychotics, previously known as neuroleptics and major tranquilizers, are a class of Psychiatric medication, psychotropic medication primarily used to manage psychosis (including delusions, hallucinations, paranoia or disordered thought), p ...
s for the management of
schizophrenia
Schizophrenia () is a mental disorder characterized variously by hallucinations (typically, Auditory hallucination#Schizophrenia, hearing voices), delusions, thought disorder, disorganized thinking and behavior, and Reduced affect display, f ...
.
*Giving an
adenosine A2A receptor antagonist on top of existing treatment for Parkinson's disease.
In
pharmacology
Pharmacology is the science of drugs and medications, including a substance's origin, composition, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, therapeutic use, and toxicology. More specifically, it is the study of the interactions that occur betwee ...
, the term is occasionally used to describe treatments that increase (augment) the concentration of some substance in the body. This might be done when someone is deficient in a hormone, enzyme, or other endogenous substance. For example:
*Use of
DDCIs in addition to L-DOPA, to reduce conversion of L-DOPA outside the brain.
*To give α1 antitrypsin to someone with
alpha 1-antitrypsin deficiency
Alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency (A1AD or AATD) is a genetic disorder that may result in lung disease or liver disease. Onset of lung problems is typically between 20 and 50 years of age. This may result in shortness of breath, wheezing, or an inc ...
.
References
Clinical pharmacology
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