Alzheimer’s disease is one of the biggest medical mysteries of our time. It slowly robs people of their memory and identity, and while some medications can ease symptoms, there’s still no cure.
But now, scientists are turning to a powerful new tool—artificial intelligence (AI)—to find fresh answers.
A New Way to Look at Alzheimer’s
At the University of Arizona College of Medicine, Dr. Rui Chang and his team are using AI to take a deep dive into how Alzheimer’s develops. Working with researchers at Harvard and using brain samples from over 2,000 people, they created detailed maps of how genes behave as the disease progresses.
For decades, scientists have focused on amyloid plaques and tau tangles—abnormal proteins found in the brains of people with Alzheimer’s. But drugs targeting these plaques haven’t worked well. Dr. Chang believes that’s because these plaques may not be the root cause of the disease—they’re likely just a result of something going wrong earlier in the process.
“We think these plaques are a downstream effect,” Dr. Chang explains. “The real action is happening upstream, at the gene level.”
How AI Connects the Dots
Instead of studying one gene at a time—a slow and expensive process—Dr. Chang’s AI system looks at thousands of genes all at once. This technology finds patterns, shows which genes are linked, and reveals which ones might be triggering the disease in the first place.
From this giant pool of data, the AI identified 19 key genes that seemed to push brain cells toward disease. Scientists at Harvard then tested these genes in lab-grown neurons. They found that turning off 10 of them significantly reduced the formation of plaques and tangles. That’s a huge step forward—because those 10 genes might be the perfect targets for new Alzheimer’s drugs.
From Discovery to Treatment
Once these genetic targets were identified, the team used computer models to search for drugs or natural compounds that could interact with them—like finding the right key for a lock. After running simulations with millions of molecules, they narrowed the list down to about 3,000 promising drug candidates.
Some of these are already moving toward human clinical trials, backed by funding from the National Institutes of Health. These trials could begin soon.
“It’s amazing to go from computer data to possible treatments in people,” says Dr. Chang.
AI’s Bigger Role in Medicine
Dr. Chang didn’t start in medicine—he has a PhD in computer science and has been working on using AI to study diseases for more than 15 years. His team has already used this approach in other health challenges like cancer, diabetes, and heart disease.
Now, he’s hopeful that AI can help solve even more complex problems.
“In 5 years, I hope we’ll have more Alzheimer’s drug trials. In 10 years, I hope some of those drugs will be FDA-approved and really help patients,” he says.
Looking to the Future
Alzheimer’s affects millions of people and their families. With the help of AI, scientists are getting closer to understanding what causes it—and how to stop it. This new approach doesn’t just speed up research—it gives us real hope for better treatments, and maybe even a cure.
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