{"id":4717,"date":"2024-05-02T10:29:54","date_gmt":"2024-05-02T08:29:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uni.lu\/lcsb-en\/?post_type=news&p=4717"},"modified":"2024-08-08T11:15:44","modified_gmt":"2024-08-08T09:15:44","slug":"commute","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/www.uni.lu\/lcsb-en\/news\/commute\/","title":{"rendered":"Artificial intelligence to assess the risk of neurodegenerative disease following COVID-19 infection"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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The Luxembourg Centre for Systems <\/a>Biomedicine<\/a> (LCSB) at the University of Luxembourg and the Luxembourg Institute of Health<\/a> (LIH) are joining the COMMUTE<\/a> project aiming to advance our understanding of how infectious diseases such as COVID-19 can impact individual risk to develop neurodegenerative disorders such as Parkinson disease or dementia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nA four-year European project<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n

COMMUTE, which stands for COMmorbidity Mechanisms UTilized in HealthcarE, is coordinated by the Fraunhofer Institute for Algorithms and Scientific Computing<\/a> (SCAI) and backed by a 7.3 million euros grant from the European Commission. Over the next four years, an interdisciplinary team of top-tier experts will explore whether COVID-19 infections increase the risk of acquiring neurodegenerative diseases. An innovative AI-driven system will be developed to provide tailored risk assessments for individuals who have recovered from COVID-19.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, increasing evidence points to a possible causal relationship between viral infection and the onset of neurodegenerative diseases. Identifying and understanding potential links is crucial for pinpointing high-risk groups and forging new paths in disease prevention. Prof. Martin Hofmann-Apitius, the project’s lead and head of the Department of Bioinformatics<\/a> at Fraunhofer SCAI, explains: “Early in the pandemic, we saw Parkinson-like symptoms in COVID-19 patients. Reports published later suggest a neuroinflammatory response to SARS-CoV-2 infections in some patients. These initial observations have led us to a comprehensive study into the relationship between COVID-19 and neurodegeneration.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nDual approach to foster synergy<\/strong> between computational and biological methods<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

The COMMUTE project employs a dual approach to this complex issue: First, a data-driven strategy leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) to analyse existing patient data. The goal is to assess whether COVID-19 infection contributes to a heightened risk of neurodegenerative diseases, particularly Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. Secondly, a hypothesis-driven method that converts vast amounts of scientific literature into “knowledge graphs”. Modern AI methods are then used to test many disease hypotheses in parallel. This approach facilitates systematic testing of numerous disease hypotheses in cellular test systems, including experiments with brain organoids, 3D cell cultures derived from stem cells. These twin strategies aim to foster a dynamic synergy between computational and biological research methods.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nCapitalising on existing cohorts in Luxembourg<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n

The team of Prof. Rejko Kr\u00fcger<\/a>, head of Transversal Translational Medicine<\/a> at the LIH, head of the Translational Neuroscience group<\/a> at the LCSB and clinical coordinator of COMMUTE, will contribute to the project with its clinical expertise and existing cohorts on Parkinson\u2019s disease and COVID-19 in Luxembourg. He explains: \u201cInfectious disease have been previously linked with neurodegenerative processes, such as seen in multiple sclerosis or Parkinson\u2019s disease, but the extent to which COVID-19 could contribute to an increased risk is not yet known. Already existing biological samples and data collected in the country will be used to better characterise the pathological processes a SARS-CoV-2 infections can cause in individuals.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nBringing in expertise in data science and bioinformatics<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n

Within COMMUTE the LCSB also plays a role in data management and knowledge graphs, collecting, annotating and harmonising data from various sources. The LCSB Bioinformatics Core<\/a> is deeply involved in every aspect of this process, from designing to constructing and deploying the knowledge base. “Our work involves integrating diverse datasets into a knowledge graph that helps to understand the interplay between COVID-19 and neurodegenerative diseases,” explains Prof. Reinhard Schneider<\/a>, head of the Bioinformatics Core and the project\u2019s lead at the LCSB. “Moreover, our team is also providing a secure processing environment to ensure that data analysis is conducted with the utmost adherence to privacy, security and GDPR guidelines.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nPersonalised healthcare and drug repurposing<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n

The insights gained from COMMUTE are set to revolutionise personalised healthcare, exemplified by a patient-oriented AI recommendation system for dementia and neurodegeneration risk assessment. Given the profound implications of predicting increased health risks, COMMUTE also tackles its findings’ ethical and legal dimensions, incorporating input from patient advocacy groups.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Additionally, a key aspect of this research includes exploring the potential of already existing medications to treat dementia or prevent the onset of neurodegenerative processes potentially triggered by COVID-19. To this end, the project collaborates with REMEDI4ALL<\/a>, which provides a unique platform for drug repurposing.
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