In
pharmacology, an adjuvant is a drug or other substance, or a combination of substances, that is used to increase the
efficacy or
potency
Potency may refer to:
* Potency (pharmacology), a measure of the activity of a drug in a biological system
* Virility
* Cell potency, a measure of the differentiation potential of stem cells
* In homeopathic dilutions, potency is a measure of how ...
of certain drugs. Specifically, the term can refer to:
*
Adjuvant therapy in cancer management
*
Analgesic adjuvant
An analgesic adjuvant is a medication that is typically used for indications other than pain control but provides control of pain in some painful diseases. For instance, caffeine has minimal analgesic effect on its own, but may have an adjuvan ...
in pain management
*
Immunologic adjuvant
In immunology, an adjuvant is a substance that increases or modulates the immune response to a vaccine. The word "adjuvant" comes from the Latin word ''adiuvare'', meaning to help or aid. "An immunologic adjuvant is defined as any substance that ...
in vaccines
This is a specialized usage of a word (derived from the Latin verb "adjuvare", ''to help''), which also has a more general meaning as someone or something assisting in any operation or effect.
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Adjuvants