Development of korean rare disease knowledge base.
OBJECTIVE
Rare disease research requires a broad range of disease-related information for the discovery of causes of genetic disorders that are maladies caused by abnormalities in genes or chromosomes. A rarity in cases makes it difficult for researchers to elucidate definite inception. This knowledge base will be a major resource not only for clinicians, but also for the general public, who are unable to find consistent information on rare diseases in a single location.


METHODS
We design a compact database schema for faster querying; its structure is optimized to store heterogeneous data sources. Then, clinicians at Seoul National University Hospital (SNUH) review and revise those resources. Additionally, we integrated other sources to capture genomic resources and clinical trials in detail on the Korean Rare Disease Knowledge base (KRDK).


RESULTS
As a result, we have developed a Web-based knowledge base, KRDK, suitable for study of Mendelian diseases that commonly occur among Koreans. This knowledge base is comprised of disease summary and review, causal gene list, laboratory and clinic directory, patient registry, and so on. Furthermore, database for analyzing and giving access to human biological information and the clinical trial management system are integrated on KRDK.


CONCLUSIONS
We expect that KRDK, the first rare disease knowledge base in Korea, may contribute to collaborative research and be a reliable reference for application to clinical trials. Additionally, this knowledge base is ready for querying of drug information so that visitors can search a list of rare diseases that is relative to specific drugs. Visitors can have access to KRDK via http://www.snubi.org/software/raredisease/.
Seoul National University Biomedical Informatics (SNUBI), Division of Biomedical Informatics, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea. ; Systems Biomedical Informatics Research Center, Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea.
Heewon
H
Seo
Dokyoon
D
Kim
Jong-Hee
JH
Chae
Hee Gyung
HG
Kang
Byung Chan
BC
Lim
Hae Il
HI
Cheong
Ju Han
JH
Kim
Genetic Databases; Knowledge Bases; Korean; Online Systems; Rare Diseases