AI, meet traditional medicine
Artificial intelligence has started to integrate with so-called traditional medicine to prevent and treat illnesses, according to a new report from the World Health Organization and other United Nations bodies.
But the organizations warn that this practice can lead to exploitation of indigenous people and their resources.
Traditional medicine is a centuries-old practice and belief system across cultures that typically takes a holistic approach toward patients and often relies on natural resources like medicinal plants, herbs and minerals for treatments. In the U.S., this type of medicine is considered complementary and alternative medicine.
How so: Researchers are using AI models in Ghana and South Africa to identify medicinal plants. In South Korea, the technology is being used to analyze compounds from traditional medicine to improve blood disorders treatments. And in India, AI-powered diagnostics are being used in ayurgenomics, an emerging field that integrates Ayurveda — which emphasizes the harmony between the body, mind and spirit for health and well-being — and modern genetics and genomics.
In the U.S., the National Institutes of Health has a program that supports the use of AI for data analysis, personalization, predictive modeling, and integration of traditional and modern health approaches.
Why it matters: The WHO, the International Telecommunication Union and the World Intellectual Property Organization warn that AI could become a new frontier for exploitation of indigenous knowledge without proper rules in place.
The international organizations have called on governments to adopt laws that empower indigenous people to control and benefit from their data and cite successful models from Australia, Canada and New Zealand.
'We must ensure that Indigenous Peoples and local communities are not only protected but are active partners in shaping the future of AI in traditional medicine,' Dr. Yukiko Nakatani, the WHO's assistant director-general for health systems, said in a statement.
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WASHINGTON WATCH
Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins made good on his promise to meet with Congress' biggest psychedelic therapy research advocates this week.
On Monday, Collins met with Reps. Jack Bergman (R-Mich.) and Lou Correa (D-Calif.), co-chairs of the psychedelics-focused PATH caucus, to discuss the VA's push to advance psychedelic therapy for veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, substance use disorder and traumatic brain injuries.
The VA is 'challenging the status quo to find new ways of helping Veterans,' Collins said in a statement. He pointed to 11 clinical trials on psychedelic therapies underway at VA as evidence of that push.
'I look forward to working with Congress as VA explores new avenues to safely and responsibly help those who have served,' he added.
State-of-play: Correa and Bergman introduced the Innovative Therapies Centers of Excellence Act in April, which seeks $30 million for VA research on psychedelic therapies like MDMA, psilocybin, ketamine, ibogaine and 5-MeO-DMT to treat mental health conditions. The bill would also create five centers of excellence to research alternative treatments for veterans.
Bergman and Correa were also the driving force behind a lobbying push last summer to get the Food and Drug Administration to approve an application for MDMA-assisted therapy as a treatment for PTSD.
But the FDA rejected the application, telling the applicant, Lykos Therapeutics, that it hadn't proved its MDMA and talk therapy regimen was a safe and effective PTSD treatment.
What's next: Under HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and FDA Commissioner Marty Makary, psychedelics advocates are hopeful for another bite at the apple.
Kennedy told Congress last month that results from early government studies on psychedelics at the VA and FDA were 'very, very encouraging.'
Makary sees it the same way, Kennedy added: 'Marty has told me that we don't want to wait two years to get this done.'
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