AI-based method used to screen for Alzheimer's disease drugs

Researchers have used artificial intelligence to screen 80 FDA-approved drugs and reveal which could be used as Alzheimer's treatments. A team at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and Harvard Medical School (HMS), both US, has developed an artificial intelligence (AI)-based method to screen currently available medications as possible treatments for Alzheimer's disease. According to the researchers, the method could represent a rapid and inexpensive way to repurpose existing therapies into new treatments for the neurodegenerative condition. It could also help reveal new, unexplored targets for therapy by pointing to mechanisms of drug action. "Repurposing US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved drugs for Alzheimer's disease is an attractive idea that can help accelerate the arrival of effective treatment – but unfortunately, even for previously approved drugs, clinical trials require substantial resources, making it impossible to evaluate every drug in patients with Alzheimer's disease," explained Dr Artem Sokolov, at HMS. "We therefore built a framework for prioritising drugs, helping clinical studies to focus on the most promising ones."