Most parents and children eventually experience the paradox that naturally comes with the passage of time. Specifically, while your parents took excellent care of you during your childhood, you may have to become the caregiver as they enter their golden years.
If your parents develop Alzheimer’s disease or another form or dementia, you simply may lack the skills necessary to care for them. Fortunately, there is some promising news about artificial intelligence and Alzheimer’s patients.
AI may help determine Alzheimer’s risk
According to reporting from Health Analytics, AI can predict a patient’s Alzheimer’s risk with nearly perfect accuracy years before doctors know there is a problem. This breakthrough stems from the development of an algorithm that recognizes small changes in the way Alzheimer’s patients use language.
AI may lead to better treatments
Currently, Alzheimer’s patients have few treatment options, leaving their loved ones to watch helplessly as they experience cognitive decline. As the Harvard Medical School notes, though, AI is an invaluable tool in finding already approved drugs that have the potential of fighting the effects of Alzheimer’s. This may lead to faster breakthroughs, as pharmaceutical scientists may no longer have to stumble upon them.
AI may allow for aging in place
The thought of moving your aging parents into a nursing home or another long-term care facility may make you shudder. Fortunately, as AI progresses, your parents may be able to age in place. That is, eventually, robotics and computer programs may help your mother and father accomplish everyday tasks without assistance.
While it is reasonable to have some worries about your parents’ Alzheimer’s risk, the news is not entirely bad. Ultimately, due to AI advancements, Alzheimer’s patients are in a better place now than at any previous time in history.