Lichtgedanken 05

S C HW E R P U N K T 13 05 | LICHT GEDANKEN F E AT U R E Made-to-measure medication Precise substances—targeted therapies How do headache tablets know where they need to take effect? And how does the active substance get there from the stomach? Of course, the tablet does not »know« anything and the medicine is distributed all over the body—both to the place where it needed and elsewhere. Whereas taking pills for headache is rather unproblematic, ingesting highly toxic substances, for example, those used in the treatment of tumour cells, may result in strong side effects. That is why scientists and researchers at the University of Jena are developing new nanosystems which would be able to guide active substances to the precise area within the body where they are needed. Other research teams are focusing on receptor molecules—the docking stations for the body’s own neurotransmit- ters—so they can be used for new diagnostic and tailor-made therapies. »