National Institutes of Health Pharmacogenomics Research Network

Search software finds new treatment uses for drugs

Software that searches drug databases to identify new treatments has already made two potential breakthroughs, say researchers at Stanford University, in the US. A drug commonly used to alleviate ulcers has shown promise against lung cancer and an anti-convulsant could also work against inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), according to a match made by the software.. The research team used an NIH database available to the public, called the NIH National Center for Biotechnology Information Gene Expression Omnibus, which contains thousands of genomic studies from around the world. The database compiles information on how gene activity changes ...