Für die meisten menschlichen Proteine sind keine Wirkstoffe bekannt, die sie chemisch binden – eine Wissenslücke, die die Entwicklung neuer Medikamente behindert. Forschende am CeMM haben zusammen mit Pfizer eine Methode verwendet und skaliert, um die Bindungsaktivität von Hunderten kleinen Molekülen gegenüber Tausenden menschlichen Proteinen zu messen – zehntausende Ligand-Protein-Interaktionen können nun für die Entwicklung neuer Wirkstoffe erforscht werden. Mit maschinellem Lernen und KI konnte man außerdem voraussagen, wie neue Wirkstoffe mit allen Proteinen interagieren. Die Studie erschien in Science (DOI: 10.1126/science.adk5864), alle Daten und Modelle sind frei zugänglich

Machines can learn not only to make predictions, but also to handle causal relationships. An international research team shows how this could make therapies safer, more efficient, and more individualized. Artificial intelligence is making progress in the medical arena. When it comes to imaging techniques and the calculation of health risks, there is a plethora of AI methods in development and testing phases. Wherever it is a matter of recognizing patterns in large data volumes, it is expected that machines will bring great benefit to humanity. Following the classical model, the AI compares information against learned examples, draws conclusions, and makes extrapolations. Now an international team led by Professor Stefan Feuerriegel, Head of the Institute of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Management at LMU, is exploring the potential of a comparatively new branch of AI for diagnostics and therapy. Can causal… 

A new tool to identify infants most at risk for severe respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) illness could aid pediatricians in prioritizing children under 1 to receive a preventive medication before RSV season (October-April), according to Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) research published in Open Forum Infectious Diseases and to be presented at the American Thoracic Society 2024 International Conference.  Study authors considered factors including birth month, birth weight and whether an infant has siblings to determine who is most at risk of severe RSV illness and could benefit from the medication nirsevimab, commonly used as a preventive in newborns. “We developed a tool to identify babies at highest risk for a severe infection due to RSV,” said the study’s presenter Ferdinand Cacho, MD, pediatric pulmonology fellow in the Center for Asthma Research at VUMC. “RSV is a common respiratory infection that can cause fever, cough, runny… 

Analysis of over 1,300 German adults hospitalised with moderate COVID-19 finds treatment with antibiotics was associated with five times greater likelihood of COVID-19 deterioration compared to patients not given antibiotics. To explore this further, Dr Friedrichs and colleagues analysed data on 1,317 hospitalised adults (median age 59 years; 38% women) with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection between March 2020 and May 2023 from the German National Pandemic Cohort Network (NAPKON), which includes patients from various hospitals across Germany who were hospitalised with a positive SARS-CoV-2 PCR test. Using the WHO Clinical Progression Scale [1], they identified 1,149 patients who were classified as having moderate disease (WHO score 4-5), of whom 467 (41%) were treated with antibiotics commonly used for respiratory infections such as ß-Lactam-antibiotics, macrolides, or moxifloxacin during their hospital stay. A further 168 patients were classed as having severe disease (WHO…