New UCLA AI tool targets Alzheimer’s cases often missed in early diagnosis

LOS ANGELES (KABC) — Researchers at UCLA are harnessing the power of artificial intelligence to help identify who’s at risk of Alzheimer’s disease.

Scientists are developing an AI tool to detect those cases and reduce disparities in many communities.

Alzheimer’s disease is the sixth leading cause of death in the U.S., and researchers say an early diagnosis is important for many reasons.

“There’s new therapies that can be prescribed if you have early Alzheimer’s disease now, so that’s another main interest of why we want to identify patients as early as possible,” said UCLA Neurologist Dr. Timothy Chang.

He said studies show up to 40% of Alzheimer’s cases are undiagnosed.

How does the UCLA AI tool work?

The algorithm examines patient medical records for prior diagnoses, age and neurological indicators.

“We were able to capture about 80% of the people who actually would have undiagnosed Alzheimer’s disease,” said Chang.

That’s nearly double the accuracy rate of other models.

Researchers also taught the AI tool to more precisely recognize cases in underrepresented groups. For example, Black people and Latinos are more likely to get Alzheimer’s, but less likely to receive a diagnosis.

“It does it fairly across different groups. If you have some of these early signs, there are lifestyle changes that you can make,” said Chang.

How the new AI tool can help families

Ana Kelly and her husband Jim took care of Ana’s mother Anita Chavira until her death due to Alzheimer’s.

“I had come to realize that she did have dementia years before she was actually diagnosed,” said Kelly. “She went downhill, and in January 2016, she passed.”

Her mom’s story, featured in a USC student documentary, gave Kelly perspective.

“If I should ever get it, I would like to be a cooperative patient and family member,” she said. “I don’t want to make it more difficult for my loved ones to take care of me.”

After taking care of her mom, Kelly is concerned about the shortage of caregivers for the ever-increasing number of Americans who’ll be diagnosed with dementia. She believes taking an active role in your future health is crucial.

“Your eating habits, your exercise, your mental health, all those things at a younger age,” said Kelly. “If I can’t prevent it, I can at least slow it by a decade or two. That would be important to me,” she said.