Research summary
People who suffer from neurological diseases may experience secondary complications, including pain and muscle spasms. To treat these problems they may take a variety of drugs simultaneously—a situation known as “polypharmacy.” Yet there is still a major knowledge gap when it comes to understanding the neurologic effects of taking a variety of medications at the same time.
Dr. Jacquelyn Cragg, Canada Research Chair in Open Data Science, is using advanced analytical techniques to understand the neurologic effects of commonly used medications. She and her research team hope their work will yield new insights into the safety of neurologic drugs and reveal information about how drugs for certain conditions may be repurposed to treat other ones. Ultimately, their work will improve patients’ quality of life.