Artificial Intelligence to Diagnose Alzheimer’s Early
Studies are carried out worldwide to use Artificial Intelligence (AI), which has become a part of life, in treating Alzheimer’s disease, also known as “Dementia” among people.
Some studies state that the onset of Alzheimer’s disease can be predicted with 99 percent accuracy through Artificial Intelligence (AI).
According to the World Health Organization (WHO) data, more than 55 million people live with Alzheimer’s worldwide. Therefore, the patient needs to go through many screenings and tests to diagnose the disease.
With Artificial Intelligence (AI) studies, scientists are working on a system that can detect Alzheimer’s disease without symptoms and only with a brain scan.
In 2017, Nicola Amoroso and Marianna La Rocca of the University of Bari in Italy worked on an Artificial Intelligence (AI) algorithm to distinguish structural changes in the brain caused by Alzheimer’s disease.
An Artificial Intelligence (AI)–based technique has been developed that can detect changes in the brains of people at high risk of Alzheimer’s disease ten years before the infection is diagnosed. The process uses magnetic resonance (MR) images of the brain to determine how different brain parts are connected.
Alzheimer’s is a nervous system disease that is the most common cause of Dementia in the elderly and causes memory loss and cognitive functions. Therefore, it is essential to develop an effective method for the early diagnosis of the disease. Because although there is no cure for the disease yet, the sooner the drugs under development are administered, the more effective they will likely be. Early detection may also allow individuals to make lifestyle changes to slow the progression of the disease.
The researchers first trained the algorithm using 67 MRI images, 38 of which belonged to Alzheimer’s patients and 29 healthy individuals. The goal was to teach the algorithm to distinguish between diseased and healthy brains. First, the researchers divided the brain scan images into small pieces. By varying the size of the parts they split into different trials, they determined the piece size that gave the best results. They then tested the algorithm using brain scan images from another group of 148 people. In this group, 52 people were healthy, and 48 were Alzheimer’s patients. Forty–eight people had mild cognitive impairment (MLD), but it was known that these people also got Alzheimer’s after 2.5 to 9 years. The AI algorithm distinguished between a healthy brain and a brain with Alzheimer’s with 86% accuracy. But more importantly, it was able to differentiate between a healthy brain and a brain with mild cognitive impairment with 84% accuracy. This means that the algorithm can detect changes in the brain that cause Alzheimer’s almost a decade before clinical signs appear. However, the researchers were limited by their data, so they could not test whether the algorithm could predict disease onset even earlier.
As a result of the research, it was observed that Artificial Intelligence (AI) detected Alzheimer’s with 86 percent accuracy, and this detection, which can be made before the symptoms of the disease appear, is expected to pave the way for early diagnosis of Alzheimer’s.
In addition, researchers from the University of Kaunas in Lithuania announced on September 3 that they are working on a method based on deep learning that can predict the possible onset of Alzheimer’s disease 99 percent by looking at brain images.
With the method being developed, the brain tomographs of people with suspected Alzheimer’s disease are compared with the brain films of Alzheimer’s patients. Thanks to Artificial Intelligence (AI) aim to detect common patterns that scientists cannot see in the brain film.
The algorithm could be handy, especially if preventative treatments for Alzheimer’s are available.
The drug that destroys the amyloid components created by Alzheimer’s in the brain will be tried for the first time
On the other hand, on November 16, Brigham & Women’s Hospital in the USA announced that it would start nasal spray trials to prevent the progression of Alzheimer’s disease and slow down the problems it causes.
It was announced that the drug, which will be tried on a human for the first time, will be tested on 16 people for the first time on June 24, and a total of 4 doses of nasal spray treatment will be started for each participant within a period of 5 to 6 weeks.
It was stated that the nasal spray contains the substance “Protollin,” which stimulates the immune system and activates the white blood cells. This drug purifies the protein fragments called “amyloid” that the disease accumulates in the brain.
Experts stated that if the clinical trial is successful, it can be used in treatment within 5–6 years. Results from the study are expected by the summer of 2022.
In the UK, it was revealed that Alzheimer’s could be reversed.
In a study conducted at the University of Leicester on November 15, it was stated that Alzheimer’s was changed in an experiment conducted by scientists on mice.
In the study published in the journal Molecular Psychiatry, experts studied the method to stop the disease early and prevent its occurrence without showing symptoms.
The researchers reported that by working on mice, they managed to prevent the formation of protein plaques in the body with an antibody called “TAP01–04,” thus reversing Alzheimer’s.
It was noted that the treatment, which is stated to cost 15 pounds, can be used as a vaccine, and its trials on humans can be started within two years.
Commenting on the research results, Mark Carr stated that the vaccine could be administered to Alzheimer’s patients who show symptoms and people suspected of Alzheimer’s but do not show signs.
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