New AI method may improve Crohn’s disease treatment

Washington: Crohn’s disease that causes inflammation of the digestive tract can now be better understood and treated with the help of a new artificial intelligence based method developed by scientists.
The Rutgers-led study, published in the journal — Genome Medicine — used artificial intelligence to examine genetic signatures of Crohn’s in 111 people.
The method revealed previously undiscovered genes linked to the disease and accurately predicted whether thousands of other people had the disease.
“Our method is not a clinical diagnosis tool, but it generates interesting observations that need to be followed up,” said senior author Yana Bromberg, an associate professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology at Rutgers University-New Brunswick.
“Further experimental work could reveal the molecular reasons behind some forms of Crohn’s disease and, potentially, lead to better treatments of the disease,” added Yana Bromberg. Crohn’s affects up to 780,000 people in the United States, the study noted.
Chronic inflammation may occur in any part of the gastrointestinal tract, although symptoms may occur elsewhere. Crohn’s can also cause joint pain and skin problems, and children with the disease may have growth problems, according to the U.S. National Library of Medicine.