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Inpharmacology, the termceiling effect refers to the property of increasing doses of a given medication to have progressively smaller incremental effect (an example ofdiminishing returns). Mixedagonist-antagonist opioids, such asnalbuphine, serve as a classic example of the ceiling effect; increasing the dose of a narcotic frequently leads to smaller and smaller gains in relief ofpain. In many cases, the severity ofside effects from a medication increases as the dose increases, long after its therapeutic ceiling has been reached.
The term is defined as "the phenomenon in which a drug reaches a maximum effect, so that increasing the drug dosage does not increase its effectiveness."[1] Sometimes drugs cannot be compared across a wide range of treatment situations because one drug has a ceiling effect.[citation needed]
Sometimes the desired effect increases with dose, but side effects worsen or start being dangerous, andrisk to benefit ratio increases. This is because of occupation of all the receptors in a given specimen.