A patient with many serious illnesses, facing the death sentence, but thanks to artificial intelligence (AI) found him a suitable medicine to help improve his health.
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| Artificial intelligence helps discover new uses for drugs. (Illustration: Pexels) |
The New England Journal of Medicine recently reported on a man with a rare immune disease whose life was saved by AI. The patient, whose identity has not been disclosed, suffered from idiopathic multicentric Castleman disease (iMCD), which has a low survival rate and few treatment options. The disease affects the lymph nodes and other immune cell structures, which can damage tissues and organs, leading to life-threatening multi-organ failure.
But an AI tool searched through thousands of existing drugs and discovered a novel effect of adalimumab – a monoclonal antibody used for conditions ranging from arthritis to Crohn’s disease. Adalimumab can target tumor necrosis factor, which plays a key role in iMCD.
Dr. David Fajgenbaum, working at the University of Pennsylvania (USA) - the lead author of the study announced the breakthrough. Dr. Fajgenbaum informed: "The patient in the study was almost sent to the hospice care unit but now he has been in remission for 2 years. This is not only remarkable for patients with iMCD but also an important milestone in using AI to find treatments for many more conditions."
“There are probably hundreds of patients in the United States, and thousands of patients worldwide, who are in the midst of a dangerous flare-up like this patient experienced. More research is needed, but I am hopeful that many people could benefit from this new treatment,” said Dr. Fajgenbaum, who also has iMCD.
Many diseases that appear very different in symptoms have the same genetic mutation or trigger, and can therefore be treated with a single drug. The process of using an existing drug for a new purpose is called drug repurposing.
Previously, UK researchers used AI to suggest existing drug combinations for an incurable type of brain cancer in children.
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