Podcast: Can Stem Cells and Tech Transform Parkinson’s Treatment?
Dr. Ihtsham ul Haq is using artificial intelligence to bring greater objectivity, consistency and speed to Parkinson’s diagnoses.
Parkinson’s disease, the second-most common neurodegenerative disorder in the United States, is marked by the gradual loss of dopamine-producing neurons in the brain. While cognitive and behavioral symptoms often come later, the earliest signs are subtle and typically appear in a person’s movement. These small motor changes can precede a clinical diagnosis by years but are often difficult to detect with the naked eye.
That’s where artificial intelligence could make a transformative difference.
On the latest episode of “Inside U Miami Medicine,” Ihtsham ul Haq, M.D., chief of the Movement Disorders Division at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, shared how he and his team are using artificial intelligence to bring greater objectivity, consistency and speed to Parkinson’s diagnoses.
“The rate of damage is often so slow that changes may be happening in your brain for 20, 30, even 40 years before symptoms show up,” said Dr. Haq. “It occurred to us that training a machine to analyze video may be an opportunity to improve early detection. And so that’s what we did.”
But early detection is only part of the challenge. Current treatments for Parkinson’s primarily rely on medications that boost dopamine levels, but their effectiveness can wear off over time. Long-term use often leads to undesirable side effects.
Dr. Haq believes that stem cell therapy, which involves transplanting dopamine-producing cells directly into the brains of Parkinson’s patients, may be the first big step toward a regenerative therapy that could slow or even reverse the disease.
“What’s unique about this trial, I think, is that these are cells that have been designed so that they will grow into dopamine-producing cells,” said Dr. Haq. “(In early safety studies) there seem to be seeing some pretty spectacular changes.”
To hear more about how stem cells and AI are reshaping what’s possible for people living with Parkinson’s, listen to Dr. Haq’s full interview on Apple or wherever you get your podcasts.
Tags: AI, artificial intelligence, Dean Henri Ford, Dr. Ihtsham ul Haq, Inside U Miami Medicine, movement disorders, Movement Disorders Division, Parkinson's disease, technology