Detoxification

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

For other uses, see Detoxification (disambiguation).

Detoxification or detoxication (detox for short)

toxic substances from a living organism, including the human body, which is mainly carried out by the liver. Additionally, it can refer to the period of drug withdrawal during which an organism returns to homeostasis after long-term use of an addictive substance.[2][3] In medicine, detoxification can be achieved by decontamination of poison ingestion and the use of antidotes as well as techniques such as dialysis and (in a limited number of cases) chelation therapy.[4]

Many alternative medicine practitioners promote various types of detoxification such as detoxification diets. Sense about Science, a UK-based charitable trust, determined that most such dietary "detox" claims lack any supporting evidence.[5][6]

The liver and kidney are naturally capable of detox, as are intracellular (specifically, inner membrane of mitochondria or in the endoplasmic reticulum of cells) proteins such as CYP enzymes. In cases of kidney failure, the action of the kidneys is mimicked by dialysis; kidney and liver transplants are also used for kidney and liver failure, respectively.

Types

Alcohol detoxification

Main article: Alcohol detoxification

Alcohol detoxification is a process by which a heavy drinker's system is brought back to normal after being

withdrawal from long-term alcohol addiction without medical management can cause severe health problems and can be fatal. Alcohol detox is not a treatment for alcoholism
. After detoxification, other treatments must be undertaken to deal with the underlying addiction that caused alcohol use.

Drug detoxification

Main article: Drug detoxification

Clinicians use drug detoxification to reduce or relieve withdrawal symptoms while helping an addicted person adjust to living without drug use. Drug detoxification does not aim to treat addiction but rather represents an early step within long-term treatment. Detoxification may be achieved drug-free or may use medications as an aspect of treatment. Often drug detoxification and treatment will occur in a community program that lasts several months and takes place in a residential setting rather than in a medical center.

Drug detoxification varies depending on the location of treatment, but most detox centers provide treatment to avoid the symptoms of physical withdrawal from alcohol and from other drugs. Most also incorporate

counseling
and therapy during detox to help with the consequences of withdrawal.

Metabolic detoxification

An animal's

xenobiotic metabolism.[8][9][10][11] Enzymes that are important in detoxification metabolism include cytochrome P450 oxidases,[12] UDP-glucuronosyltransferases,[13] and glutathione S-transferases.[14] These processes are particularly well-studied as part of drug metabolism, as they influence the pharmacokinetics of a drug in the body.[15][16][17]

Alternative medicine

Main article: Detoxification (alternative medicine)

Certain approaches in

metabolic therapy.[20]

See also

References

  1. ^ "detoxification - definition of detoxification by the Free Online Dictionary, Thesaurus and Encyclopedia". Thefreedictionary.com. Retrieved April 21, 2013.
  2. ^ "detoxify - definition of detoxify in the Medical dictionary - by the Free Online Medical Dictionary, Thesaurus and Encyclopedia". Medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com. Retrieved April 21, 2013.
  3. ^ "Toxicology Primer". UIC. Archived from the original on October 31, 2013. Retrieved April 21, 2013.
  4. ^ "Get the Lead Out - Autumn 2009 Living Bird". Birds.cornell.edu. October 15, 2009. Retrieved April 21, 2013.
  5. ^ "Scientists dismiss detox schemes". BBC News. January 3, 2006. Retrieved July 26, 2016.
  6. ^ "No proof so-called detox products work: scientists". CTV News. January 5, 2009. Retrieved December 25, 2023.
  7. ^ "Detox". Archived from the original on August 4, 2009. Retrieved July 18, 2009.
  8. ^ xenobiotic metabolic process (April 13, 2013). "AmiGO: xenobiotic metabolic process Details". Amigo.geneontology.org. Archived from the original on July 25, 2009. Retrieved April 21, 2013.
  9. ^ L-60: Xenobiotic Metabolism (archived version).
  10. ^ "Metabolism of Xenobiotics". Zoology.muohio.edu. Archived from the original on June 1, 2013. Retrieved April 21, 2013.
  11. ^ Xenobiotic Metabolism-Oxford Biomedical Research Inc (archived version).
  12. PMID 12369887
    .
  13. PMID 11465080
    .
  14. PMID 11695986
    .
  15. ^ "Small Molecule Drug Metabolism". Ionsource.com. September 1, 2012. Retrieved April 21, 2013.
  16. ^ "Comparison of the Levels of Enzymes Involved in Drug Metabolism between Transgenic or Gene-knockout and the Parental Mice". Tpx.sagepub.com. January 1, 2001. Retrieved April 21, 2013.
  17. S2CID 27415918
    . Retrieved April 21, 2013.
  18. ^ Scott Gravure (January 1, 2015). "Detox: What 'They' Don't Want You To Know". Science-Based Medicine.
  19. ^ a b Zeratsky, Katherine. "Do detox diets offer any health benefits?". Mayo Clinic. Archived from the original on March 3, 2022. Retrieved July 26, 2016.
  20. ^ "More information on complementary and alternative medicine". American Cancer Society. Archived from the original on June 2, 2008. Retrieved July 26, 2016.

External links

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