Single Brain Scan Can Diagnose Alzheimer's Disease Quickly and Accurately:
A new machine learning algorithm can diagnose Alzheimer's disease from a single MRI brain scan, using a standard MRI machine available in most hospitals.
New research breakthrough uses machine learning technology to look at structural features within the brain, including in regions not previously associated with Alzheimer's. The advantage of the technique is its simplicity and the fact that it can identify the disease at an early stage when it can be very difficult to diagnose.
Although there is no cure for Alzheimer's disease, getting a diagnosis quickly at an early stage helps patients. It allows them to access help and support, get treatment to manage their symptoms and plan for the future. Being able to accurately identify patients at an early stage of the disease will also help researchers to understand the brain changes that trigger the disease, and support development and trials of new treatments.
[...] The researchers adapted an algorithm developed for use in classifying cancer tumors and applied it to the brain. They divided the brain into 115 regions and allocated 660 different features, such as size, shape, and texture, to assess each region. They then trained the algorithm to identify where changes to these features could accurately predict the existence of Alzheimer's disease.
[...] They found that in 98 percent of cases, the MRI-based machine learning system alone could accurately predict whether the patient had Alzheimer's disease or not. It was also able to distinguish between early and late-stage Alzheimer's with fairly high accuracy, in 79 percent of patients.
[...] The new system spotted changes in areas of the brain not previously associated with Alzheimer's disease, including the cerebellum (the part of the brain that coordinates and regulates physical activity) and the ventral diencephalon (linked to the senses, sight and hearing). This opens up potential new avenues for research into these areas and their links to Alzheimer's disease.
Dr. Paresh Malhotra, who is a consultant neurologist at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust and a researcher in Imperial's Department of Brain Sciences, said: "Although neuroradiologists already interpret MRI scans to help diagnose Alzheimer's, there are likely to be features of the scans that aren't visible, even to specialists. Using an algorithm able to select texture and subtle structural features in the brain that are affected by Alzheimer's could really enhance the information we can gain from standard imaging techniques."
Journal Reference:
Marianna Inglese, Neva Patel, Kristofer Linton-Reid, et al., A predictive model using the mesoscopic architecture of the living brain to detect Alzheimer's disease [open], Communications Medicine, 2022. DOI: 10.1038/s43856-022-00133-4
Related Stories
A new artificial intelligence-based technique for measuring fluid flow around the brain's blood vessels could have big implications for developing treatments for diseases such as Alzheimer's:
The perivascular spaces that surround cerebral blood vessels transport water-like fluids around the brain and help sweep away waste. Alterations in the fluid flow are linked to neurological conditions, including Alzheimer's, small vessel disease, strokes, and traumatic brain injuries but are difficult to measure in vivo.
A multidisciplinary team of mechanical engineers, neuroscientists, and computer scientists led by University of Rochester Associate Professor Douglas Kelley developed novel AI velocimetry measurements to accurately calculate brain fluid flow. The results are outlined in a study published by Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
[...] The work builds upon years of experiments led by study coauthor Maiken Nedergaard, the codirector of Rochester's Center for Translational Neuromedicine. The group has previously been able to conduct two-dimensional studies on the fluid flow in perivascular spaces by injecting tiny particles into the fluid and measuring their position and velocity over time. But scientists needed more complex measurements to understand the full intricacy of the system—and exploring such a vital, fluid system is a challenge.
Journal Reference: Artificial intelligence velocimetry reveals in vivo flow rates, pressure gradients, and shear stresses in murine perivascular flows - https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2217744120
Originally spotted on The Eponymous Pickle.
Related: Single Brain Scan Can Diagnose Alzheimer's Disease Quickly and Accurately
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 28 2022, @05:49AM
Well, not sure their associations are correct then? There is already association between these systems and Alzheimer. Alzheimer patients tend to poorly handle sensory input and physical activity is associated with reduced incidence of the disease. This all points to Alzheimer is a whole-brain disease and not just of the Hippocampus and the associated areas.
https://www.alzheimers.org.uk/about-dementia/risk-factors-and-prevention/physical-exercise [alzheimers.org.uk]
(Score: 5, Interesting) by Barenflimski on Tuesday June 28 2022, @06:22AM (1 child)
This is great information to have. Its a great start to help be able to track down any type of palliative, or even a cure. One major issue in this field is that it was near impossible for anyone to do any sort of real study on people that WILL get Alzheimers, as there was no way to figure that out without studying and scanning tens of thousands of people randomly.
This is a great start to begin some very serious research. Yes, we are a decade out before you turn this into that type of research, but any starting place is better than none.
What I'm curious about is who actually gets a scan like this? What precipitates you being scanned, other than for research? I just think about my insurance. I checked. There is no reason they would do a brain scan as a normal "checkup." Is this the type of thing where if I get hit by a car, and they do a brain scan, and find something else, it will be an "incidental" finding?
Regardless, I hope this helps future versions of me.
(Score: 2) by krishnoid on Thursday June 30 2022, @12:59AM
Well, it's a "scan", so there aren't any consumables per se, so if you can get this done less expensively across a border, it could be worth it. Before you get the scan, make sure you can pay the extra dodecaloon or whatever for a CD of the digital data, and you can provide it to your general practitioner and ask them if they can have their radiologist (or AI) interpret it as well. You can even look at it yourself, since they're all standardized in DICOM [nih.gov] format.
(Score: 4, Interesting) by quietus on Tuesday June 28 2022, @02:05PM
Does it help patients, really?
The very best treatment, a few years back, could extend the period that you could still manage with about half a year. Weigh that against the psychological pressure: a lot, if not most, people who signed their euthanasia papers here in Belgium did this thinking euthanasia would spare their relatives, and themselves, the perceived humiliation and agony of severe dementia.
(It does not: the law requires that you must be fully capable of understanding what's going to happen to you: nearly by definition, you aren't capable to do that anymore once it's determined you've got Alzheimer's.)
Maybe, sometimes, ignorance is bliss.