Use of AI in Medicine
In medicine, AI tools are enhancing work in precision medicine and diagnostics, including this specific study that is the groundwork for what could be the first biomedical screening and intervention tool for a subtype of autism. This study is also the first in using state-of-the-art AI algorithms—graph clustering—to aggregate functionally related genetic mutations, and to find novel mechanisms of autism. This is a task of finding a needle in a haystack, as we have thousands of variants in hundreds of genes thought to underlie autism, each of which is mutated in less than 1% of the families. This AI-driven precision medicine approach identified that lipid dysregulation (abnormal lipid level) defines a specific autism subtype. Our results unveiled opportunities for early biochemical screening and early intervention of autism.
Learn more about Northwestern's use of AI in research exploration
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