Health Highlight: Mon. 5, June
Today’s Highlight(s): Researchers at MIT have enlisted AI in the fight against drug-resistant bacteria.
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THE BRIEF
Researchers at MIT used an artificial intelligence algorithm to find a novel antibiotic that can neutralize drug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii bacteria, which is commonly found in hospitals and nursing homes and can often be the cause of health-acquired or health-care infections (HAIs). 1 2
KEY POINTS
The AI was trained to find a drug that specifically targeted how the bacteria grows.
The AI found a strong antibiotic called abaucin out of a library of 7,000+ antibiotics that only affects A. baumannii and not other bacteria, like those found in the gut, which are essential for digestion.
Now, the researchers are working on improving the therapeutic properties of abaucin so that it can be used in patients in the future.
They also plan to use this AI modeling approach to find similar antibiotics for other bacteria like Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa.
DOUBLE-CLICK
The drug is effective in treating infections in mice and shows promise in laboratory tests with drug-resistant strains obtained from human patients.
The drug works by inhibiting a process known as lipoprotein trafficking, which is involved in the transport of proteins within the bacterial cells.
“We haven’t finalized the experimental data acquisition yet, but we think it’s because A. baumannii does lipoprotein trafficking a little bit differently than other Gram-negative species. We believe that’s why we’re getting this narrow spectrum activity.”
—Jonathan Stokes, Assistant Professor of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences McMaster University, MIT
MORE
Healthcare-Associated Infections (HAIs): Types of Infections
Modern healthcare employs many types of invasive devices and procedures to treat patients and to help them recover. Infections can be associated with the devices used in medical procedures, such as catheters or ventilators.What Are Nosocomial Infections?
People now use nosocomial infections interchangeably with the terms health-care associated infections (HAIs) and hospital-acquired infections. For a HAI, the infection must not be present before someone has been under medical care.Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning (AI/ML) for Drug Development
Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) can be described as a branch of computer science, statistics, and engineering that uses algorithms or models to perform tasks and exhibit behaviors such as learning, making decisions, and making predictions.
Keywords 🏷️: #AI #MachineLearning #DrugResistantBacteria #NewDrugs #HealthCare #HAIsFOOTNOTES
“Using AI, scientists find a drug that could combat drug-resistant infections: The machine-learning algorithm identified a compound that kills Acinetobacter baumannii, a bacterium that lurks in many hospital settings”
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/05/230525141523.htm
“Using AI, scientists find a drug that could combat drug-resistant infections: The machine-learning algorithm identified a compound that kills Acinetobacter baumannii, a bacterium that lurks in many hospital settings”
https://news.mit.edu/2023/using-ai-scientists-combat-drug-resistant-infections-0525