Trieste, 9 May 2024 – Using a type of artificial intelligence known as “deep learning”, applied to a data collection method called system biology, James Collins, a researcher at MIT in Boston, has discovered a class of antibiotics capable of killing a drug-resistant bacterium (lo Staphylococcus aureus methicillin resistant – MRSA), which causes more than 10,000 deaths every year in the United States alone.
The results of the research were illustrated during PneumoTrieste 2024, a medical-scientific meeting inspired by the words of Umberto Veronesi “treatment is better where research is also done”, organized by Asugi’s Trieste Pneumology directed by prof. Marco Confalonieri, which was attended by around 600 specialists from all over Italy and abroad.
James Collins, awarded the Clarivate citation in 2023 (a sort of antechamber to the Nobel) stated that “the new method based on artificial intelligence requires a lot of preliminary data on bacteria, on possible candidate compounds to become drugs, on the mechanisms of cellular damage and protection of the human organism to then allow us to very quickly predict which molecules are most suitable for that particular microbe without damaging the “good” microbes that for example we have on the skin and in the intestine”.
The professor. Umberto Meduri of Memphis illustrated the many properties of a powerful “drug-hormone”, which is a hormone produced by our body (as well as a well-known drug) and acts on all cells (except red blood cells), coordinating the body’s response to stress. Molecules such as cortisone together with vitamins can imitate, at appropriate paraphysiological doses, what the human organism does in each of its cells when negative stress causes damage, helping to repair cells and restore normality in an increasingly natural and physiological way compared to drugs that interfere with biological mechanisms.
During an interesting seminar moderated by Dr. Gianna Zamaro, head of the Regional Health Directorate of Friuli Venezia Giulia, we took stock of new ideas and experiences of connection between hospital and territory in favor of the chronically ill, starting from the assumption that pathologies more widespread respiratory diseases, such as bronchial asthma and COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), have a notable impact on the health of citizens, especially those who are older and those with multiple pathologies (such as lung+heart+kidney+diabetes). Telemedicine – it has been confirmed – can represent a solution in the hands of doctors and health systems to encourage the coordinated interaction of home interventions for the most fragile patients.
Infectious diseases also found space at PneumoTrieste 2024, although Covid-19 is no longer in the spotlight. The Dr. Giovanni Battista Migliori, collaborator of the World Health Organization for the control of tuberculosis, stated that “in Italy a program dedicated to tuberculosis would be needed, also taking into account the strong influx from countries with high incidence linked to poverty: a national TB programme, with a competent manager and an agile and representative committee, which acts electronically on urgent issues and develops a coordinated strategic plan for regional health systems, it could help achieve the goal of eliminating tuberculosis from Italy by 2030”.
During the symposium on pulmonary endoscopy, also called bronchoscopy, the progress of endoscopic robotics using electromagnetic guidance was admired, illustrated by prof. Pietro Valdastri, an Italian working at the University of Leeds in the United Kingdom who demonstrated equipment that allows robot- and artificial intelligence-guided bronchoscopies to be performed with thin wires, which try not to cause any discomfort to the patient and at the same time they can reach peripheral points of the lung to perform biopsies or laser and heat treatments. Valdastri underlined that “for now the robotic colonoscopy is ready which does not cause pain and does not require anesthesia, while the pulmonary equipment will still take 3-5 years”.
At the conclusion of PneumoTrieste 2024, coordinator Marco Confalonieri underlined that “research in medicine is not a luxury, but a necessity for the healthcare system which can thus find solutions for its improvement. However, we must face various challenges: guaranteeing economic resources to finance research, despite economic difficulties and bureaucratic obstacles, and addressing complex ethical issues.”
“However, overcoming the obstacles – stated prof. Confalonieri – these challenges present opportunities for innovation and progress in medical science, improving patient care and developing new diagnostic-therapeutic modalities, which can revolutionize healthcare practices. The rapid growth of technology and data availability also offers opportunities for collaboration between researchers and clinicians to make a personalized medicine approach through research increasingly a reality, with significant improvements in overall health outcomes.”
PneumoTrieste 2024 was organized with the patronage of the Friuli Venezia Giulia Region, Asugi, the Italian Society of Pneumology and numerous associations that work in favor of this important medical-scientific sector (Acsi, Amar FVG, Lam Italia, Alfa 1-AT , Amip, Aipo).
