HUME: large-scale detection of causal genetic factors of adverse drug reactions

Identification of drug-side effect association via restricted Boltzmann machines with penalized term

In the entire life cycle of drug development, the side effect is one of the major failure factors. Severe side effects of drugs that go undetected until the post-marketing stage leads to around two million patient morbidities every year in the United States. Therefore, there is an urgent need for a method to predict side effects of approved drugs and new drugs. Following this need, we present a new predictor for finding side effects of drugs. Firstly, multiple similarity matrices are constructed based on the association profile feature and drug chemical structure information. Secondly, these similarity matrices are integrated by Centered Kernel Alignment-based Multiple Kernel Learning algorithm. Then, Weighted K nearest known neighbors is utilized to complement the adjacency matrix. Next, we construct Restricted Boltzmann machines (RBM) in drug space and side effect space, respectively, and apply a penalized maximum likelihood approach to train model. At last, the average decision rule was adopted to integrate predictions from RBMs. Comparison results and case studies demonstrate, with four benchmark datasets, that our method can give a more accurate and reliable prediction result.

Moderate-Intensity Physical Activity, Music and Art Activities Preserved Cognitive Health in Older Adults: An Argument for Social Prescribing Solution

Introduction: Rates of dementia are projected to increase over the coming years as global populations age. Without a treatment to slow the progression of dementia, many health policies are focusing on preventing dementia by slowing the rate of cognitive decline with age. However, it is unclear which lifestyle changes in old age meaningfully reduce the rate of cognitive decline associated with aging. Objectives: Use existing, multi-year longitudinal health data to determine if engagement in a variety of different lifestyle activities can slow the rate of cognitive decline as older adults age. Method: Data from the English Longitudinal Study of Aging was analyzed using a quasi-experimental, efficient matched-pair design inspired by the clinical trial methodology. Changes in short-term memory scores were assessed over a multi-year interval for groups who undertook one of 11 different lifestyle activities, compared to control groups matched across confounding socioeconomic and lifestyle factors. Results: Two factors, moderate-intensity physical activity and learning activities, resulted in significant positive impact on cognitive function. Conclusion: Our analysis brings cognitive benefit arguments in favor of two lifestyle activities, moderate-intensity physical activity and learning activities, while rejecting other factors advanced by the literature such as vigorous-intensity physical activity. Those findings justify and encourage the development of new lifestyle health programs by health authorities and bring forward the new health system solution, social prescribing.

Challenges and Opportunities in Implementing Pharmacogenetic Testing in Clinical Settings

The clinical implementation of pharmacogenetic biomarkers continues to grow as new genetic variants associated with drug outcomes are discovered and validated. The number of drug labels that contain pharmacogenetic information also continues to expand. Published, peer-reviewed clinical practice guidelines have also been developed to support the implementation of pharmacogenetic tests. Incorporating pharmacogenetic information into health care benefits patients as well as clinicians by improving drug safety and reducing empiricism in drug selection. Barriers to the implementation of pharmacogenetic testing remain. This review explores current pharmacogenetic implementation initiatives with a focus on the challenges of pharmacogenetic implementation and potential opportunities to overcome these challenges.

Prevention of adverse drug effects: a pharmacogenomic approach

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

Adverse drug reactions (ADRs) are a serious burden and can negatively impact patient quality of life. One of these ADRs, anthracycline-induced cardiotoxicity (ACT), occurs in up to 65% of treated patients and can lead to congestive heart failure. Pharmacogenetic studies have helped to reveal the mechanisms of ACT and, consequently, inform current strategies to prevent ACT in the clinic.

RECENT FINDINGS

Many pharmacogenetic studies have been conducted for ACT, but few have led to the development of clinical practice guidelines and clinical genetic testing for ACT. This is, in part, because of lack of replication in independent patient cohorts and/or validation of an affected biological pathway. Recent advances in pharmacogenetic studies have been made through the use of novel methods that directly implicate dysregulated genes and perturbed biological pathways in response to anthracycline treatment.

SUMMARY

Furthering the understanding of the genetics and altered biological pathways of ACT through these novel methods can inform clinical treatment strategies and enable refinement of current clinical practice guidelines. This can therefore lead to improvement in clinical pharmacogenetic testing for further reduction of the incidence of ACT in pediatric cancer patients taking anthracyclines.