Detective work on drug dosage

摘要

Choosing the right drug dose for a particular patient is more of an art than a science. For example, the dosage of most drugs is simply based on patients' age: "Adults and children 12 years and over, take 2 tablespoons every 6 hours," for example. In reality, there is patient-to-patient variability in drug metabolism and excretion, highlighting the need for accurate and patient-specific approaches to monitor drug concentration after administration. Taking a big step towards this goal, Ferguson et al. describe, in a paper published in Science Translational Medicine, a detection system that allows real-time tracking of drugs in the blood.