Researchers have developed a method based on Artificial Intelligence (AI) that quickly identifies currently available medications that may treat Alzheimer’s disease.
The method could represent a quick and inexpensive way to incorporate transplants into new treatments for this advanced, debilitating neurodegenerative condition. Importantly, it could help to emerge new, unexplored targets for treatment by reference to drug modalities.
“Replacing FDA-approved drugs for Alzheimer’s disease is an attractive idea that will help speed up effective treatment – but unfortunately, even for previously approved drugs, there is a need at clinical trials on many resources, making it impossible to evaluate all drugs in patients with Alzheimer’s disease. , ”Said researcher Artem Sokolov from Harvard Medical School.
“So we built a framework for drug prioritization, helping clinical studies to focus on the most promising,” Sokolov said.
For the study, published in Nature Communications, the team described their framework, called DRIAD (Drug Reproduction in Alzheimer’s Disease), which is responsible for machine learning – a branch of artificial intelligence in the United States. systems are “trained” on a lot of data, “learn” to identify patterns and inform the decisions of researchers and clinicians.
DRIAD works by measuring what happens to human brain stem cells when they are treated with a drug.
The method then determines whether the changes resulting from a drug are linked to molecular signs of disease anxiety.
The approach also allowed the researchers to identify drugs that had protective effects as well as adverse effects on brain cells.
The team applied the screening method to 80 FDA-approved and clinically tested drugs for a wide range of conditions. The analysis provided a list of registered candidates, with several anti-inflammatory drugs used to diagnose rheumatoid arthritis and blood cancers as major culprits.
These drugs belong to a type of medication called Janus kinase inhibitors. The drugs work by inhibiting the action of inflammation-fueled Janus kinase proteins, which are suspected to play a role in Alzheimer’s disease and are known for their role in autoimmune conditions. The team’s analyzes also identified other potential treatment targets for further study.