More than six million Americans live with Alzheimer’s disease – and one in three seniors dies with the disease, according to statistics from the Alzheimer’s Association.
With so many different factors – genetics, lifestyle and environment – influencing a person’s life risk of developing Alzheimer’s diseasemany physicians are moving away from one-size-fits-all approaches and seeking more individualized treatments.
It’s a concept known as precision medicine. And that’s what inspired a company called uMETHOD to create RestoreU, a tool that uses artificial intelligence to help doctors create personalized care plans for patients with Alzheimer’s disease and other types. of dementia.
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“Dementia is what is called a complex disease”, CEO Vik Chandra, co-founder and CEO of uMETHOD Health in Cary, North Carolinasaid in an interview with Fox News Digital.
“This means that there are multiple underlying causes that eventually lead to a patient developing dementia over time.”
Many of those more than 50 causes can actually be treated with available medications and interventions, he said. But because doctors only spend an average of about eight minutes with each patient, they often don’t have enough time to comprehensively assess the patient and address treatable causes.
More than six million Americans live with Alzheimer’s disease and one in three seniors dies from it, according to the Alzheimer’s Association. (Stock)
The RestoreU system acts as a sort of physician’s assistant, Chandra said.
“His job is not to help the doctor diagnose the patient, but to help the doctor assess the treatable causes and then put the patient on the appropriate treatment,” he explained.
“It’s really about improving care,” he added. “It’s not about seeing where they are or if they have dementia – it’s about what to do to improve that patient’s cognitive health.”
“When we’re dealing with human health, people’s lives, making incorrect recommendations or making mistakes is simply not acceptable.”
The RestoreU AI tool is most effective for patients who are beginning to notice mild cognitive impairment and are in the early stages of dementia, Chandra told Fox News Digital.
“The data shows us that around 10% of the population over 65 – just over six million people – have dementia, and around 20% have mild cognitive impairment,” he said. .
How it works
Through a partnership with Quest Diagnostics, uMETHOD has rolled out its AI service to physicians, who can order the service through the patient’s electronic health record.
Once the physician orders the service, it triggers the exchange of detailed information between the physician’s electronic health record systems and Quest Diagnostics, Chandra explained.
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“It provides the doctor with a wealth of information on the underlying causes of cognitive decline, whether it’s medications, beta-amyloid, thyroid, B12, or lifestyle issues like sleep” , did he declare.
Then RestoreU provides a report to the doctor on how to treat the patient, including add or change medications.
The doctor receives a comprehensive plan that they can use to “decide the direction of care for each patient,” Chandra said. “Everything is personalized to the needs of that particular patient.”
Historically, medical care has relied on general guidelines that can be difficult to adapt to the nuances of each patient, the doctor said. (Stock)
Patient privacy is protected throughout the process, he noted.
“We manage our infrastructure in a HIPAA-compliant manner that maintains the security and integrity of patient data,” Chandra said.
AI could have ‘enormous potential’ for Alzheimer’s disease
Mark Dredze, associate professor of computer science at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Marylandis a big proponent of the use of AI in the treatment of dementia patients.
“Caring for patients with cognitive decline is particularly complex and requires the integration of multiple sources of information into a single care plan,” he told Fox News Digital.
“AI has the potential to integrate various types of patient data into an actionable treatment plan.”
Historically, medical care has relied on general guidelines that can be difficult to adapt to the nuances of each patient, he explained.
“AI has the potential to integrate various types of patient data into an actionable treatment plan.”
“The potential for artificial intelligence in medicine is enormous, as it can combine many different types of information into a personalized plan for each patient,” Dredze added.
At the same time, however, he stressed the importance of understanding the biases and risks of these technologies so that they elevate the standard of care for all patients.
The AI tool in action
Dr. Ashish Sachdeva, Internal Medicine Physician in Peoria, Arizonawho has been using the AI tool RestoreU for his patients for five years, calls it a “no-brainer” for any primary care physician.
“It sets a baseline and a lifelong care plan for healthy living,” he told Fox News Digital. “With information from the report, doctors can identify potentially reversible causes of cognitive decline, such as medication side effects or hormonal imbalances, that mimic dementia.”
“AI has the potential to develop accurate treatment recommendations, allowing physicians to personalize care for each patient,” an expert told Fox News Digital. (Stock)
“The information can also help identify measures that may slow or, if possible, stop the progression of dementia,” Sachdeva added.
The tool gives the doctor a comprehensive plan with lab reports, social history, drug history, psychological history, and advice for lifestyle changes, including diet, sleep, exercise, and stress management.
“That’s all a primary care physician should be doing anyway, but it’s all laid out on a platter,” Sachdeva said.
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A key benefit of cognitive AI tools is their ability to identify risk factors early, he said.
“If you want to do a kicka– 90, the process should start at 50,” Sachdeva told Fox News Digital.
“This report helps you identify risk factors and consider lifestyle changes, pharmacological changes, supplementation, and other actions that will help you achieve this goal.”
“There is no one-size-fits-all solution”
Except for identical twins, no humans look alike, Chandra said. That’s why he believes in the power of precision medicine, which involves targeting treatments to the specific needs of a particular patient.
Through a partnership with Quest Diagnostics, uMETHOD has rolled out its AI service to physicians, who can order the service through the patient’s electronic health record. (Stock)
“The underlying causes of what leads to a patient’s chronic illness, such as cognitive decline, vary widely from patient to patient,” he said.
Of the 10,000 patients the AI tool has served to date, 52% of them have a dozen or more causes of cognitive decline — and they vary from person to person, Chandra said. .
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“Treatment and interventions need to be very specific to that particular patient, addressing the real causes that exist in that individual,” he said. “There is no one-size-fits-all solution.”
In addition to improving patient outcomes, Chandra believes precision medicine will also significantly reduce costs of care, as the patient will not be subjected to expensive drugs and treatments that ultimately do not work for them.
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But with that clarification comes some responsibility, the doctor said.
With hundreds of different AI algorithms, it’s important to understand how systems come to their conclusions.
One of the main benefits of cognitive AI tools is their ability to identify risk factors early, a doctor has said. (Stock)
“The classes of algorithms that uMETHOD applies are always such as to justify why they arrived at a particular set of conclusions, why they made a particular set of treatment recommendations,” he said.
“When we are dealing with human healthwith people’s lives, making incorrect recommendations or making mistakes is simply not acceptable.”
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“We have been very, very careful in selecting the appropriate set of algorithms so that physicians can increasingly rely on our solutions to provide the best care for these patients,” he added.
Going forward, Chandra said uMETHOD aims to deploy more prevention-focused solutions, with the goal of identifying early signs before patients slip into dementia.
