Investigating ADR mechanisms with Explainable AI: a feasibility study with knowledge graph mining

Machine learning for antidepressant treatment selection in depression

Finding the right antidepressant for the individual patient with major depressive disorder can be a difficult endeavor and is mostly based on trial-and-error. Machine learning (ML) is a promising tool to personalize antidepressant prescription. In this review, we summarize the current evidence of ML in the selection of antidepressants and conclude that its value for clinical practice is still limited. Apart from the current focus on effectiveness, several other factors should be taken into account to make ML-based prediction models useful for clinical application.

Knowledge-graph-based explainable AI: A systematic review

In recent years, knowledge graphs (KGs) have been widely applied in various domains for different purposes. The semantic model of KGs can represent knowledge through a hierarchical structure based on classes of entities, their properties, and their relationships. The construction of large KGs can enable the integration of heterogeneous information sources and help Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems be more explainable and interpretable. This systematic review examines a selection of recent publications to understand how KGs are currently being used in eXplainable AI systems. To achieve this goal, we design a framework and divide the use of KGs into four categories: extracting features, extracting relationships, constructing KGs, and KG reasoning. We also identify where KGs are mostly used in eXplainable AI systems (pre-model, in-model, and post-model) according to the aforementioned categories. Based on our analysis, KGs have been mainly used in pre-model XAI for feature and relation extraction. They were also utilised for inference and reasoning in post-model XAI. We found several studies that leveraged KGs to explain the XAI models in the healthcare domain.

Knowledge Graphs in Pharmacovigilance: A Scoping Review

PURPOSE

To critically assess the role and added value of knowledge graphs in pharmacovigilance, focusing on their ability to predict adverse drug reactions.

METHODS

A systematic scoping review was conducted in which detailed information, including objectives, technology, data sources, methodology, and performance metrics, were extracted from a set of peer-reviewed publications reporting the use of knowledge graphs to support pharmacovigilance signal detection.

FINDINGS

The review, which included 47 peer-reviewed articles, found knowledge graphs were utilized for detecting/predicting single-drug adverse reactions and drug-drug interactions, with variable reported performance and sparse comparisons to legacy methods.

IMPLICATIONS

Research to date suggests that knowledge graphs have the potential to augment predictive signal detection in pharmacovigilance, but further research using more reliable reference sets of adverse drug reactions and comparison with legacy pharmacovigilance methods are needed to more clearly define best practices and to establish their place in holistic pharmacovigilance systems.

A Science-Based Methodology Framework for the Assessment of Combination Safety Risks in Clinical Trials

Multiple components factor into the assessment of combination safety risks when two or more novel individual products are used in combination in clinical trials. These include, but are not limited to, biology, biochemistry, pharmacology, class effects, and preclinical and clinical findings (such as adverse drug reactions, drug target and mechanism of action, target expression, signaling, and drug-drug interactions). This paper presents a science-based methodology framework for the assessment of combination safety risks when two or more investigational products are used in clinical trials. The aim of this methodology framework is to improve prediction of the risks, to enable the appropriate safety risk mitigation and management to be put in place for the combination, and the development of the project combination safety strategy.

Artificial Intelligence in Pharmacovigilance: An Introduction to Terms, Concepts, Applications, and Limitations

The tools of artificial intelligence (AI) have enormous potential to enhance activities in pharmacovigilance. Pharmacovigilance experts need not be AI experts, but they should know enough about AI to explore the possibilities of collaboration with those who are. Modern concepts of AI date from Alan Turing's work, especially his paper on "the imitation game", in the late 1940s and early 1950s. Its scope today includes computational skills, including the formulation of mathematical proofs; visual perception, including facial recognition and virtual reality; decision making by expert systems; aspects of language, such as language processing, speech recognition, creative composition, and translation; and combinations of these, e.g. in self-driving vehicles. Machines can be programmed with the ability to learn, using neural networks that mimic cognitive actions of the human brain, leading to deep structural learning. Limitations of AI include difficulties with language, arising from the need to understand context and interpret ambiguities, which particularly affect translation, and inadequacies of databases, requiring careful preparation and curation. New techniques may cause unforeseen difficulties via unexpected malfunctioning. Relevant terms and concepts include different types of machine learning, neural networks, natural language programming, ontologies, and expert systems. Adoption of the tools of AI in pharmacovigilance has been slow. Machine learning, in conjunction with natural language processing and data mining, to study adverse drug reactions in databases such as those found in electronic health records, claims databases, and social media, has the potential to enhance the characterization of known adverse effects and reactions and detect new signals.