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Zheng H, Gu C, Yang H. Identification of disease-specific bio-markers through network-based analysis of gene co-expression: A case study on Alzheimer's disease. Heliyon 2024; 10:e27070. [PMID: 38468964 PMCID: PMC10926071 DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e27070] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/10/2023] [Revised: 02/16/2024] [Accepted: 02/23/2024] [Indexed: 03/13/2024] Open
Abstract
Finding biomarker genes for complex diseases attracts persistent attention due to its application in clinics. In this paper, we propose a network-based method to obtain a set of biomarker genes. The key idea is to construct a gene co-expression network among sensitive genes and cluster the genes into different modules. For each module, we can identify its representative, i.e., the gene with the largest connectivity and the smallest average shortest path length to other genes within the module. We believe these representative genes could serve as a new set of potential biomarkers for diseases. As a typical example, we investigated Alzheimer's disease, obtaining a total of 16 potential representative genes, three of which belong to the non-transcriptome. A total of 11 out of these genes are found in literature from different perspectives and methods. The incipient groups were classified into two different subtypes using machine learning algorithms. We subjected the two subtypes to Gene Ontology analysis and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes analysis with healthy groups and moderate groups, respectively. The two sub-type groups were involved in two different biological processes, demonstrating the validity of this approach. This method is disease-specific and independent; hence, it can be extended to classify other kinds of complex diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hexiang Zheng
- Department of Systems Science, Business School, University of Shanghai for Science and Technology, Shanghai, 200093, China
| | - Changgui Gu
- Department of Systems Science, Business School, University of Shanghai for Science and Technology, Shanghai, 200093, China
| | - Huijie Yang
- Department of Systems Science, Business School, University of Shanghai for Science and Technology, Shanghai, 200093, China
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Chen P, Zhang S, Zhao K, Kang X, Rittman T, Liu Y. Robustly uncovering the heterogeneity of neurodegenerative disease by using data-driven subtyping in neuroimaging: A review. Brain Res 2024; 1823:148675. [PMID: 37979603 DOI: 10.1016/j.brainres.2023.148675] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/02/2023] [Revised: 10/19/2023] [Accepted: 11/07/2023] [Indexed: 11/20/2023]
Abstract
Neurodegenerative diseases are associated with heterogeneity in genetics, pathology, and clinical manifestation. Understanding this heterogeneity is particularly relevant for clinical prognosis and stratifying patients for disease modifying treatments. Recently, data-driven methods based on neuroimaging have been applied to investigate the subtyping of neurodegenerative disease, helping to disentangle this heterogeneity. We reviewed brain-based subtyping studies in aging and representative neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer's disease, mild cognitive impairment, frontotemporal dementia, and Lewy body dementia, from January 2000 to November 2022. We summarized clustering methods, validation, robustness, reproducibility, and clinical relevance of 71 eligible studies in the present study. We found vast variations in approaches between studies, including ten neuroimaging modalities, 24 cluster algorithms, and 41 methods of cluster number determination. The clinical relevance of subtyping studies was evaluated by summarizing the analysis method of clinical measurements, showing a relatively low clinical utility in the current studies. Finally, we conclude that future studies of heterogeneity in neurodegenerative disease should focus on validation, comparison between subtyping approaches, and prioritise clinical utility.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pindong Chen
- Brainnetome Center, Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China; School of Artificial Intelligence, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China; Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, UK
| | - Shirui Zhang
- School of Artificial Intelligence, Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications, Beijing, China
| | - Kun Zhao
- School of Artificial Intelligence, Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications, Beijing, China
| | - Xiaopeng Kang
- Brainnetome Center, Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China; School of Artificial Intelligence, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Timothy Rittman
- Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, UK
| | - Yong Liu
- Brainnetome Center, Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China; School of Artificial Intelligence, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China; School of Artificial Intelligence, Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications, Beijing, China.
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Newby D, Orgeta V, Marshall CR, Lourida I, Albertyn CP, Tamburin S, Raymont V, Veldsman M, Koychev I, Bauermeister S, Weisman D, Foote IF, Bucholc M, Leist AK, Tang EYH, Tai XY, Llewellyn DJ, Ranson JM. Artificial intelligence for dementia prevention. Alzheimers Dement 2023; 19:5952-5969. [PMID: 37837420 PMCID: PMC10843720 DOI: 10.1002/alz.13463] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/12/2023] [Revised: 08/01/2023] [Accepted: 08/07/2023] [Indexed: 10/16/2023]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION A wide range of modifiable risk factors for dementia have been identified. Considerable debate remains about these risk factors, possible interactions between them or with genetic risk, and causality, and how they can help in clinical trial recruitment and drug development. Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) may refine understanding. METHODS ML approaches are being developed in dementia prevention. We discuss exemplar uses and evaluate the current applications and limitations in the dementia prevention field. RESULTS Risk-profiling tools may help identify high-risk populations for clinical trials; however, their performance needs improvement. New risk-profiling and trial-recruitment tools underpinned by ML models may be effective in reducing costs and improving future trials. ML can inform drug-repurposing efforts and prioritization of disease-modifying therapeutics. DISCUSSION ML is not yet widely used but has considerable potential to enhance precision in dementia prevention. HIGHLIGHTS Artificial intelligence (AI) is not widely used in the dementia prevention field. Risk-profiling tools are not used in clinical practice. Causal insights are needed to understand risk factors over the lifespan. AI will help personalize risk-management tools for dementia prevention. AI could target specific patient groups that will benefit most for clinical trials.
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Affiliation(s)
- Danielle Newby
- University of Oxford, Department of Psychiatry, Warneford Hospital, Oxford, OX3 7JX, UK
| | - Vasiliki Orgeta
- Division of Psychiatry, University College London, London, W1T 7BN, UK
| | - Charles R Marshall
- Preventive Neurology Unit, Wolfson Institute of Population Health, Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry, Queen Mary University of London, E1 4NS, UK
- Department of Neurology, Royal London Hospital, London, E1 1BB, UK
| | - Ilianna Lourida
- Population Health Sciences Institute, Newcastle University, Newcastle, NE2 4AX, UK
- University of Exeter Medical School, Exeter, EX1 2HZ, UK
| | - Christopher P Albertyn
- Department of Old Age Psychiatry, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, SE5 8AF, UK
| | - Stefano Tamburin
- Department of Neurosciences, Biomedicine and Movement Sciences, University of Verona, Verona, 37129, Italy
| | - Vanessa Raymont
- University of Oxford, Department of Psychiatry, Warneford Hospital, Oxford, OX3 7JX, UK
| | - Michele Veldsman
- Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX3 9DU, UK
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX2 6GG, UK
| | - Ivan Koychev
- University of Oxford, Department of Psychiatry, Warneford Hospital, Oxford, OX3 7JX, UK
| | - Sarah Bauermeister
- University of Oxford, Department of Psychiatry, Warneford Hospital, Oxford, OX3 7JX, UK
| | - David Weisman
- Abington Neurological Associates, Abington, PA 19001, USA
| | - Isabelle F Foote
- Preventive Neurology Unit, Wolfson Institute of Population Health, Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry, Queen Mary University of London, E1 4NS, UK
- Institute for Behavioral Genetics, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO 80309, USA
| | - Magda Bucholc
- Cognitive Analytics Research Lab, School of Computing, Engineering & Intelligent Systems, Ulster University, Derry, BT48 7JL, UK
| | - Anja K Leist
- Institute for Research on Socio-Economic Inequality (IRSEI), Department of Social Sciences, University of Luxembourg, L-4365, Luxembourg
| | - Eugene Y H Tang
- Population Health Sciences Institute, Newcastle University, Newcastle, NE2 4AX, UK
| | - Xin You Tai
- Nuffield Department of Clinical Neuroscience, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX3 9DU, UK
- Division of Clinical Neurology, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford University Hospitals Trust, Oxford, OX3 9DU, UK
| | | | - David J. Llewellyn
- University of Exeter Medical School, Exeter, EX1 2HZ, UK
- The Alan Turing Institute, London, NW1 2DB, UK
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Pommy J, Conant L, Butts AM, Nencka A, Wang Y, Franczak M, Glass-Umfleet L. A graph theoretic approach to neurodegeneration: five data-driven neuropsychological subtypes in mild cognitive impairment. NEUROPSYCHOLOGY, DEVELOPMENT, AND COGNITION. SECTION B, AGING, NEUROPSYCHOLOGY AND COGNITION 2023; 30:903-922. [PMID: 36648118 DOI: 10.1080/13825585.2022.2163973] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/20/2022] [Accepted: 12/26/2022] [Indexed: 01/18/2023]
Abstract
Mild cognitive Impairment (MCI) is notoriously heterogenous in terms of clinical presentation, neuroimaging correlates, and subsequent progression. Predicting who will progress to dementia, which type of dementia, and over what timeframe is challenging. Previous work has attempted to identify MCI subtypes using neuropsychological measures in an effort to address this challenge; however, there is no consensus on approach, which may account for some of the variability. Using a hierarchical community detection approach, we examined cognitive subtypes within an MCI sample (from the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative [ADNI] study). We then examined whether these subtypes were related to biomarkers (e.g., cortical volumes, fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG)-positron emission tomography (PET) hypometabolism) or clinical progression. We identified five communities (i.e., cognitive subtypes) within the MCI sample: 1) predominantly memory impairment, 2) predominantly language impairment, 3) cognitively normal, 4) multidomain, with notable executive dysfunction, 5) multidomain, with notable processing speed impairment. Community membership was significantly associated with 1) cortical volume in the hippocampus, entorhinal cortex, and fusiform cortex; 2) FDG PET hypometabolism in the posterior cingulate, angular gyrus, and inferior/middle temporal gyrus; and 3) conversion to dementia at follow up. Overall, community detection as an approach appears a viable method for identifying unique cognitive subtypes in a neurodegenerative sample that were linked to several meaningful biomarkers and modestly with progression at one year follow up.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jessica Pommy
- Department of Neurology, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, United States
| | - L Conant
- Department of Neurology, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, United States
| | - A M Butts
- Department of Neurology, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, United States
| | - A Nencka
- Department of Radiology, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, United States
| | - Y Wang
- Department of Radiology, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, United States
| | - M Franczak
- Department of Neurology, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, United States
| | - L Glass-Umfleet
- Department of Neurology, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, United States
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Katabathula S, Davis PB, Xu R. Comorbidity-driven multi-modal subtype analysis in mild cognitive impairment of Alzheimer's disease. Alzheimers Dement 2023; 19:1428-1439. [PMID: 36166485 PMCID: PMC10040466 DOI: 10.1002/alz.12792] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is a heterogeneous condition with high individual variabilities in clinical outcomes driven by patient demographics, genetics, brain structure features, blood biomarkers, and comorbidities. Multi-modality data-driven approaches have been used to discover MCI subtypes; however, disease comorbidities have not been included as a modality though multiple diseases including hypertension are well-known risk factors for Alzheimer's disease (AD). The aim of this study was to examine MCI heterogeneity in the context of AD-related comorbidities along with other AD-relevant features and biomarkers. METHODS A total of 325 MCI subjects with 32 AD-relevant comorbidities and features were considered. Mixed-data clustering is applied to discover and compare MCI subtypes with and without including AD-related comorbidities. Finally, the relevance of each comorbidity-driven subtype was determined by examining their MCI to AD disease prognosis, descriptive statistics, and conversion rates. RESULTS We identified four (five) MCI subtypes: poor-, average-, good-, and best-AD prognosis by including comorbidities (without including comorbidities). We demonstrated that comorbidity-driven MCI subtypes differed from those identified without comorbidity information. We further demonstrated the clinical relevance of comorbidity-driven MCI subtypes. Among the four comorbidity-driven MCI subtypes there were substantial differences in the proportions of participants who reverted to normal function, remained stable, or converted to AD. The groups showed different behaviors, having significantly different MCI to AD prognosis, significantly different means for cognitive test-related and plasma features, and by the proportion of comorbidities. CONCLUSIONS Our study indicates that AD comorbidities should be considered along with other diverse AD-relevant characteristics to better understand MCI heterogeneity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sreevani Katabathula
- Center for Artificial Intelligence in Drug Discovery, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, OH, USA
| | - Pamela B Davis
- Center for Community Health Integration, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, OH, USA
| | - Rong Xu
- Center for Artificial Intelligence in Drug Discovery, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, OH, USA
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Wang X, Ye T, Zhou W, Zhang J. Uncovering heterogeneous cognitive trajectories in mild cognitive impairment: a data-driven approach. Alzheimers Res Ther 2023; 15:57. [PMID: 36941651 PMCID: PMC10026406 DOI: 10.1186/s13195-023-01205-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/06/2022] [Accepted: 03/12/2023] [Indexed: 03/23/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Given the complex and progressive nature of mild cognitive impairment (MCI), the ability to delineate and understand the heterogeneous cognitive trajectories is crucial for developing personalized medicine and informing trial design. The primary goals of this study were to examine whether different cognitive trajectories can be identified within subjects with MCI and, if present, to characterize each trajectory in relation to changes in all major Alzheimer's disease (AD) biomarkers over time. METHODS Individuals with a diagnosis of MCI at the first visit and ≥ 1 follow-up cognitive assessment were selected from the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative database (n = 936; age 73 ± 8; 40% female; 16 ± 3 years of education; 50% APOE4 carriers). Based on the Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale-Cognitive Subscale-13 (ADAS-Cog-13) total scores from baseline up to 5 years follow-up, a non-parametric k-means longitudinal clustering method was performed to obtain clusters of individuals with similar patterns of cognitive decline. We further conducted a series of linear mixed-effects models to study the associations of cluster membership with longitudinal changes in other cognitive measures, neurodegeneration, and in vivo AD pathologies. RESULTS Four distinct cognitive trajectories emerged. Cluster 1 consisted of 255 individuals (27%) with a nearly non-existent rate of change in the ADAS-Cog-13 over 5 years of follow-up and a healthy-looking biomarker profile. Individuals in the cluster 2 (n = 336, 35%) and 3 (n = 240, 26%) groups showed relatively mild and moderate cognitive decline trajectories, respectively. Cluster 4, comprising about 11% of our study sample (n = 105), exhibited an aggressive cognitive decline trajectory and was characterized by a pronouncedly abnormal biomarker profile. CONCLUSIONS Individuals with MCI show substantial heterogeneity in cognitive decline. Our findings may potentially contribute to improved trial design and patient stratification.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiwu Wang
- Department of Psychiatry, Wenzhou Seventh People's Hospital, Wenzhou, China
| | - Teng Ye
- Department of Ultrasound, The First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China
| | - Wenjun Zhou
- Research and Development, Hangzhou Shansier Medical Technologies Co., Ltd., Hangzhou, China.
| | - Jie Zhang
- Department of Data Science, Hangzhou Shansier Medical Technologies Co., Ltd., Hangzhou, China.
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