New drugs can be developed from old ones. This revolutionary pharmacological approach that has been gaining ground recently was confirmed by a study conducted by two major research centres of the University of Trento that was published today in Nature Communications.
The study, which investigated the relationship between diseases and pharmacological effects at molecular level, was jointly carried out by two research teams of the University: one at Cosbi (Fondazione The Microsoft Research - University of Trento Centre for Computational and Systems Biology), which is specialized in IT and big data, and one at Cibio Department, which is focused on biology and genomics.
The researchers examined the data: the existing drugs and, in particular, their molecular properties, were analyzed with a new algorithm designed by Cosbi, to see whether they could be used to treat other conditions, to bring benefits to patients with conditions that are difficult or impossible to treat. This technique, known as 'drug repositioning', has been already used in the past, but it has become even more effective today thanks to new technologies, which facilitate the quick and systematic analysis of a vast amount of data.
We have achieved promising results, explained Enrico Domenici, president of Cosbi: "We have tested the new algorithm to search for new therapies to treat metabolic syndrome, a condition that increases the risk of heart disease and type 2 diabetes and which is characterized by obesity, elevated levels of cholesterol and/or triglycerides, high blood pressure and diabetes.
