Outsmarting Disease: Prevention Before it Strikes
Summary
Imagine a world where we can prevent illnesses like heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and Alzheimer’s before they occur. Thanks to advances in modern medicine, this is becoming a reality.
In the past, doctors focused on treating diseases after they had already developed. But today, they are increasingly looking for ways to prevent disease from happening in the first place. This is called proactive medicine, and it’s changing the way the world thinks about healthcare.
How Does AI Tailor Treatment
One of the biggest advances in the last few years is the use of AI (Artificial intelligence) to tailor detection and then treatment to suit the unique make up of each of us. See the video below.
How AI is used for the Main Diseases below, known as the ‘Four Horsemen’
- Heart disease: AI is being used to develop algorithms that can predict a patient’s risk of heart disease based on their medical history, risk factors, and lifestyle choices. This information can then be used to develop personalized prevention plans for these patients.
- Cancer: AI is being used to develop algorithms that can detect cancer cells in medical images, such as mammograms and X-rays. This can help to identify cancer early when it is most treatable.
- Diabetes: AI is being used to develop algorithms that can predict a patient’s risk of developing diabetes based on their medical history, risk factors, and lifestyle choices. This information can then be used to develop personalized prevention plans for these patients.
- Alzheimer’s: AI is being used to develop algorithms that can identify early signs of Alzheimer’s disease in medical images and cognitive tests. This can help to identify Alzheimer’s disease early when there are still treatment options available.
Other Tools
CRISPR-Cas9
CRISPR (Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats) is a gene editing technology that can be used to make precise changes to DNA. It is one of the most promising new technologies for preventing hereditary and fixing defective DNA diseases.
High-intensity interval training (HIIT)
HIIT is a type of exercise that involves alternating short bursts of intense activity with periods of rest or low-intensity activity. HIIT workouts are typically shorter than traditional workouts.
HIIT has been shown to be effective in preventing a number of chronic diseases, including heart disease and cancer. For example, a study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology found that HIIT was more effective than moderate intensity exercise in reducing the risk of heart disease in people with prediabetes.
Another study, published in the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, found that HIIT was associated with a reduced risk of colorectal cancer.
HIIT is a safe and effective way to improve cardiovascular health, reduce the risk of chronic diseases, and improve overall fitness. It is a good option for people of all ages and fitness levels.
Alzheimer’s
Immunotherapies use the body’s own immune system to target the brain’s amyloid plaques and tau tangles. Others target other aspects of the disease process, such as inflammation or nerve cell death.
Gene therapy is a type of treatment that involves delivering genetic material to cells to correct a genetic defect or to introduce a new function. Some gene therapy approaches are being developed to prevent Alzheimer’s in people who carry certain genetic risk factors.
Despite the challenges, there is a lot of promising research being done on the prevention of Alzheimer’s disease. It is possible that soon we will have a number of effective ways to prevent the disease from occurring or to slow its progression.
References
8 Responses
Hi Campbell,
Following on from our chat on Monday, early diagnosis might eliminate death as a consequence of being diagnosed, but the higher goal should be not getting the disease in the first place. More basic research needed. Richard Fidler had an amazing guest recently drawing amazing implications from studying yeast cells.
Graham
Yes, ideally we may eventually rid humanity of disease, but as always it seems we take one step at a time. Your system of non invasive early detection is a great example.
Of course the consequence may be death even if not diagnosed.
Clarification: Of course the consequence may be death even if not diagnosed.
As usual interesting and informative. While pleased to see and hear of advances in these four areas there doesn’t appear to be much advance in conditions such as arthritis in the way of prevention. This prevents people from living normal lives as simple tasks are so painful that they are avoided eg walking. AI certainly appears to be providing algorithms and hope for the future but not much point in prolonging life if you’re confined to a chair or bed. Regards John
John
Yes, arthritis is pretty common in old people although not life threatening, but the pain needs to be fixed. I think there is work being done with stem cells to reverse arthritis, although not stopping it in the first place. I will write a blog about it.
I can only speak from my experience. My X rays showed severe arthritis in both hips and I was experiencing pain in my right hip. Although I visited a hip replacement specialist, the eventual fix came from my Physio. I work on his exercises every day to increase muscle strength around the hip and increase blood flow to my cartilage. I now have no pain and walk 18 holes of golf twice a week. Hard work but worth it. I don’t favour having parts of my body replaced synthetically! Probably dreaming again!
Another important tool is aggressive assertiveness. Recently when a long list of tests failed again to reveal why I was always feeling “off” I slammed my fist on the Doctors desk and yelled “something is wrong with me, where do we go now?”.
The Doctor concentrated her mind then prescribed a particular CT scan. I was quickly diagnosed as having slow growing blood cancer and started Chemotherapy. The Specialist told me without chemo I would be dead within 5 to 9 months.
The Chemo has worked well and I am now thankfully in remission.
Kris
I agree, you can’t be over cautious as no one knows your own body better than you. Well done and keep up that positive attitude. Much more than half the battle.