A new research into off-label uses for a 50 years old drug generally prescribed for managing high blood pressure has discovered that it could check the inception of type 1 diabetes.
The study by researchers at the University of Colorado and the University of Florida, also suggests a new approach for investigating drugs that could assist in the treatment of a variety of autoimmune diseases.
Up to 60 percent of persons at risk of developing type 1 diabetes possess a molecule dubbed DQ8.
The promising research, set out to investigate whether blocking that specific molecule could also block the onset of type 1 diabetes and whether there was an already approved drug that achieved this effect.
Aaron Michels, one of the researchers working on the project, explained that: "We took every FDA approved small molecule drug and analyzed HLA-DQ8 binding through a supercomputer."
"We searched a thousand orientations for each drug to identify those that would fit within the DQ8 molecule binding groove."
The research homed in on a drug called methyldopa, which has been safely prescribed to both adults and children more than 50 years to treat cases of hypertension.
After proving the drug did distinctively block DQ8 in studies with mice, the next step was a phase 1 trial involving human subjects with type 1 diabetes to evaluate both dose safety and efficacy in reducing DQ8 levels in target patients.
As a proof-of-concept early clinical trial, the results were promising. Methyldopa was observed to reduce insulin-specific T-cell responses in patients with recent-onset type 1 diabetes indicating the drug could be effective in preventing development of the disease. A larger clinical trial, slated to get underway this year, is the next step for the researchers.
Another compelling outcome from the research is the potential for the same investigative process to be transferred to other diseases. Simply altering the molecular targets should allow the computer to analyze whether other currently approved drugs could have beneficial off-label uses.
