From racial bias in medicine to more accessible Alzheimer’s drugs, here are the health stories you may have missed this week from Yahoo News partners.
Biden warns AI could ‘overtake human thinking’
At a commencement address at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo., on Thursday, President Biden said he had been warned by experts that artificial intelligence could “overtake human thinking.” USA Today reported that this was the president’s “most direct warning to date” about the power of AI technology.
“It’s not going to be easy decisions, guys,” Biden said. “I met in the Oval Office with eight leading scientists in the area of AI. Some are very worried that AI can actually overtake human thinking and planning. So we’ve got a lot to deal with. An incredible opportunity, but a lot [to] deal with.”
The president’s remarks come days after hundreds of leaders in AI, as well as other public figures, released a statement saying that “mitigating the risk of extinction from AI should be a global priority alongside other societal-scale risks such as pandemics and nuclear war.”
Last month, Biden met with the CEOs of AI innovation companies, including Google, Microsoft and OpenAI, in an effort to ensure that AI products are safe before they’re accessible to the public.
Lung problems in Black men are underdiagnosed due to racial bias in testing, study says
A study published on Thursday contends that 40% more Black male patients would be diagnosed with breathing problems such as “asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder or lung scarring due to air pollutant exposure” if current diagnosis-assisting computer software was modified to eliminate racial bias, the Associated Press reported.
Based on data from more than 2,700 Black men and 5,700 white men tested by the University of Pennsylvania Health System, researchers looked at a commonly used test with a computer-generated report that scores a person’s ability to breathe based on how much and how quickly they can inhale and exhale. The report is created by algorithms that adjust for race, which “raise the threshold for diagnosing a problem in Black patients,” the Associated Press said. When comparing the race-based algorithm with a new algorithm, researchers found that there would be nearly 400 more cases of lung obstruction or impairment in Black men diagnosed if the new algorithm were used.
The American Thoracic Society, which represents lung-care doctors, has recommended that race and ethnicity should no longer be a factor in interpreting test results, but also called for more research to avoid any changes that could lead to an overdiagnosis of lung problems.
Medicare plans to pay for Alzheimer’s drugs that get FDA approval
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) will now pay for new Alzheimer’s drugs that have received full Food and Drug Administration approval, the agency said Thursday, on the condition that doctors who prescribe the drugs use a government registry to track patients’ progress and assess “how these drugs work in the real world.”
NBC News reported that until now, Medicare would only pay for medications if patients were enrolled in a clinical trial. This new development is likely to enable more patients to afford medications that could slow progression of the disease.
“Alzheimer’s disease takes a toll on not just the people suffering from the disease but also on their loved ones and caregivers, in a way that almost no other illness does,” CMS Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure said. “CMS has always been committed to helping people obtain timely access to innovative treatments that meaningfully improve care and outcomes for this disease.”
Winter saw a spike in rare pediatric brain infections, CDC reports
A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report published this week found that while still very rare, hospitals reported the highest level of pediatric brain infections in years this past winter.
CBS News reported that the CDC began looking into a potential increase in “pediatric intracranial infections” after doctors reported an uptick in hospitalizations, with many children infected by the bacteria Streptococcus. Most Streptococcus infections lead to benign illnesses like strep throat, but on rare occasions, they can progress to worrying symptoms, “like seizures and changes in mental status.”
This past winter, there were 102 cases in December — exceeding the previous peak of 61 cases during the 2016-2017 winter season.
Rachel Carter is a health and wellness expert dedicated to helping readers lead healthier lives. With a background in nutrition, she offers evidence-based advice on fitness, nutrition, and mental well-being.
