Artificial Intelligence is the current and future era technology,whose journey actually ignited when the Human beings proposed to create an artificial human brain,which can process a tonne of data within seconds. Even if the Artificial Intelligence is in it’s Level 1 or weak form but still it seems to be majestic in every aspect whether it’s a self driving car, or it’s AlphaGo, or your pop-up suggestion of Netflix recommended movie list specially illustrated for you.
But,currently it’s presence in Medical science can revamp the entire Medical history.
Now,currently in a study, it came out that AI can help to meliorate the Alzheimer’s diagnosis procedure.
What is Alzheimer’s Disease?
Also known as Senile Dementia, is an irreversible, progressive brain disorder that slowly destroys memory and thinking skills and, eventually, the ability to carry out the simplest tasks,even assimilation of your closest one turns out harder. Early-onset Alzheimer’s occurs between a person’s 30s and mid-60s and is very sporadic.While the Late-onset Alzheimer’s occurs to the person of age over 60s.
How the disease named so?
The disease is named after Dr. Alois Alzheimer. In 1906, Dr. Alzheimer noticed changes in the brain tissue of a woman who had died of an unusual mental illness. Her symptoms included memory loss, language problems, and flickery behavior. After she died, he examined her brain and found many abnormal and aberrant clumps (Amyloid Plaques) and tangled bundles of fibers (Neurofibrillary, or Tau, Tangles).
These plaques and tangles in the brain are still considered some of the main features of Alzheimer’s disease. Another aspect is the loss of connections between nerve cells (neurons) in the brain. Many other complex brain changes are thought to play a role in Alzheimer’s, too.
This damage initially appears to take place in the hippocampus, the part of the brain meant to form memories. As neurons die, further parts of the brain are affected. By the final stage of Alzheimer’s, damage is widespread, and brain tissue has shrunk significantly.
What Scientists have noticed?
The main risk factor for many neurological disorders is age, and with populations worldwide living longer than ever before, the number of people with a neuro-degenerative disease is expected to hit unprecedented levels. The study noted that the number of people living with Alzheimer’s alone is predicted to treble to 115 million by 2050, posing a real challenge for the health system.
The study, published in the journal Nature Reviews Neurology, highlights how AI technologies, such as machine learning algorithms, can detect neuro-degenerative disorders, which cause part of the brain to die, before progressive symptoms worsen. This can improve patient’s chances of benefiting from successful disease-modifying treatment.
Lead author of the study, Dr Laura Ferraiuolo from the University of Sheffield, said: “Most neuro-degenerative diseases still do not have a cure and in many cases are diagnosed late due to their molecular complexity”. Widespread implementation of AI technologies can help, for example, predict which patients showing mild cognitive impairment will go on to develop Alzheimer’s disease, or how severely their motor skills will decline over time.
Factors other than age and genetics may increase the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease.The accumulation of the amyloid-β (Aβ) peptide in the brain seems to begin a cascading effect of events in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s disease. Likewise, evidence is emerging that the sleep&wake cycle directly leverage levels of Aβ in the brain.
In experimental models, sleep deprivation increases the concentration of soluble Aβ and results in chronic accumulation of Aβ, whereas sleep extension has the opposite effect. Furthermore, once Aβ accumulates, increased wakefulness and altered sleep patterns develop. Individuals with early Aβ deposition who still have normal cognitive function report sleep abnormalities, as do individuals with very mild dementia due to Alzheimer’s disease. Thus, sleep and neuro-degenerative disease may influence each other in many ways that have important implications for the diagnosis and treatment of Alzheimer’s disease .
