Alzheimer Identification through DNA Methylation and Artificial Intelligence Techniques

A nonlinear approach to identifying combinations of CpGs DNA methylation data, as biomarkers for Alzheimer (AD) disease, is presented in this paper. It will be shown that the presented algorithm can substantially reduce the amount of CpGs used while generating forecasts that are more accurate than using all the CpGs available. It is assumed that the process, in principle, can be non-linear; hence, a non-linear approach might be more appropriate. The proposed algorithm selects which CpGs to use as input data in a classification problem that tries to distinguish between patients suffering from AD and healthy control individuals. This type of classification problem is suitable for techniques, such as support vector machines. The algorithm was used both at a single dataset level, as well as using multiple datasets. Developing robust algorithms for multi-datasets is challenging, due to the impact that small differences in laboratory procedures have in the obtained data. The approach that was followed in the paper can be expanded to multiple datasets, allowing for a gradual more granular understanding of the underlying process. A 92% successful classification rate was obtained, using the proposed method, which is a higher value than the result obtained using all the CpGs available. This is likely due to the reduction in the dimensionality of the data obtained by the algorithm that, in turn, helps to reduce the risk of reaching a local minima.