New tools for predicting side effects

Predicting the side effects of drugs is not an easy task At present, there are more than 1500 disease-related molecules in human body Drugs designed for these targets often attack other similar structures, resulting in unexpected consequences A joint research team at the University of North Carolina and the University of California has developed a tool to help predict the side effects of drugs by examining all their possible interactions in the human body The tool reveals the side effects of the anti AIDS drug, rescriptine, which inadvertently targets a hormone receptor called histamine H4, leading to severe rash symptoms The team, led by Brian Ross of the University of North Carolina and Brian shawchet of the University of California, found that both Prozac and Paxil, antidepressants similar to beta blockers, can be used to treat high blood pressure, which may also explain some of the side effects shared by these different classes of drugs The researchers predicted 1800 new "Miss target" associations, 23 of which they identified after extensive trials The research results are published in Zui's new issue of nature After comparing 3665 existing and experimental drugs with more than 65000 compounds (which can be combined with hundreds of human proteins), the researchers revealed their interactions The strong similarity between these drugs and any of the 65000 compounds suggests that they may all bind to the same protein In addition to making screening of drug toxicity easier, the method will also make it possible for people to look for other therapeutic targets for existing drugs, the researchers said.