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[deleted] t1_iy53m5u wrote

Reply to comment by Moskau50 in ELI5: How can medicine or multivitamins target a specific part of the body when it's all consumed the same way? by shukii89

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PepsiMangoMmm t1_iy56jkb wrote

It's not that it knows where the inflammation is and therefore reduces it. It reduces inflammation all over the body but since there's only one inflamed spot that's the spot that's effected

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Dazzling_Ad5338 t1_iy572lx wrote

Agreed. The other parts won't be effected if they're not inflammed. Only the inflammed part will be.

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hangryhyax t1_iy57qx5 wrote

NSAIDs do not target inflammation. They are delivered systemically and bind to certain molecules present in enzymes that are more abundant at the site of inflammation, inhibiting further production of prostaglandins and reducing inflammation.

In other words, it is more of a passive effect from systemic delivery, but it is not targeting. “Targeting” would imply that the medicine is taken and then goes to a specific location to create an effect; that is not what is happening here.

Even with localized delivery (e.g. steroidal anti-inflammatories), it’s more that a higher concentration is being delivered to the site and directly passing/binding whichever receptor it’s designed for, rather than wandering around until it finds what it needs, so to speak.

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