- Published
An NHS doctor who says he saved his mum's life with the help of AI hopes what he learned can help others with Parkinson's Disease complications.
asserted
learned → publish → complications
Ed Patrick, an anaesthetist from Oxfordshire, was at his mother's bedside in hospital ready to say his goodbyes after she began suffering serious and continuous seizures.
Using AI to scour recent medical journal articles, he said he identified a vitamin deficiency linked to her Parkinson's medication as a possible cause, and staff then gave her a vitamin dose that appeared to stop the seizures.
Doctors say clinical trials are needed to understand more - and warn against patients making changes to their own medication without medical advice.
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patients → say → advice
Charity Parkinson's UK welcomed the prospect of more research trials in light of this case and said it could "transform care" for some others with Parkinson's.
uncertain
it → welcome → Parkinson
'High-fiving the neurologist'
In May this year Patrick said hospital staff called to say his mother, Ann, was close to death, after she had been deteriorating over several months.
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she → five → months
"She was taken to hospital with non-stop fits and convulsions," he told BBC Radio 2's Jeremy Vine Show.
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he → take → Show
"I got a phone call from the hospital's medical registrar who told me they'd tried all the anti-seizure medications and they weren't working.
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they → get → medications
'Sorry, she's dying', the registrar told me.
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registrar → die → me
'Do I have time to make it?', I said.
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I → have → it
'Yes, but you've got to leave now' was her reply.
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reply → get → ?
"
When he got to the hospital in Nottinghamshire, Patrick said his mother was "totally unconscious", suffering continuous fits and going into kidney failure.
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mother → get → failure
He said he used Google's Gemini AI tool to summarise recent medical journal articles relevant to his mum's condition and symptoms, and then relayed it to the neurology consultant.
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he → say → consultant
"I told him what I'd discovered - that the seizures were almost certainly a rare side effect of a vitamin B6 deficiency, possibly caused by her long-term carbidopa-levodopa dopamine use, which was being used to treat her Parkinson's," he said.
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he → tell → Parkinson
Carbidopa-levodopa is a combination drug commonly used to boost dopamine levels in Parkinson's patients.
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levodopa → use → patients
Medical staff agreed to give Ann an intravenous supplement of vitamin B6, which appeared to stop her seizures.
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which → agree → seizures
"She hasn't had a seizure since," he said.
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he → have → seizure
The neurologist was high-fiving me."
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neurologist → five → me
The consultant neurologist in question, Dr Bruno Gran from Nottingham University Hospitals, said: "As an anaesthetist, Ed has a strong understanding of clinical pharmacology and his reasoning was sound.
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reasoning → say → pharmacology
"What we did not anticipate was the speed and magnitude of the response.
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anticipate → anticipate → response
Within minutes of administering vitamin B6, Ann's seizure activity stopped.
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activity → administer → B6
"We are now working to raise awareness of this potential issue, beginning with changes to practice within our own team.
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We → work → team
Although Parkinson's affects millions of people worldwide, only 14 similar cases have ever been reported.
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cases → affect → people
But if the insights gained from this case can help clinicians identify and prevent similar situations in the future, that would be a significant and positive outcome."
Ann has since made a full recovery from the seizures and Patrick said her day-to-day cognitive Parkinson's symptoms have dramatically improved.
"
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symptoms → gain → day
It's like we've got mum back", said Patrick.
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Patrick → get → mum
"It feels like we found a silver bullet.
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we → feel → bullet
"She's been given a really good quality of life from a solution we never even knew was there.
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we → give → solution
Cognitively, it's like she's gone back in time five to 10 years.
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she → go → time
Parkinson's is a progressive disorder that affects the brain, nervous system, and muscle control.
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that → affect → brain
About 166,000 people in the UK live with the condition, according to Parkinson's UK.
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people → live → UK
Patrick believes B6 vitamins could help other Parkinson's patients, both in emergency settings, but also in some cases of long-term cognitive deterioration.
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vitamins → believe → deterioration
"I think this has potentially wide-reaching ramifications for others.
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this → think → others
I know that mum's medical team has presented her case to colleagues and that's led to changes in practice in the region.
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that → know → region
They're looking at where B6 supplementation might be appropriate."
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supplementation → look → ?
Existing clinical evidence on the link between B6 deficiency in Parkinson's patients and any potential impact it can have is still limited.
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it → exist → patients
Experts told the BBC that the link is not known about by the majority of NHS staff in the UK.
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link → tell → UK
But earlier this year, the US Food and Drug Administration put out a memo, external saying that particular drugs used to treat Parkinson's should carry a warning about potential links to B6 deficiency.
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drugs → put → deficiency
Dr Graham Johnson, a consultant in emergency medicine who co-leads the Research in Emergency Medicine in Derby group and has been discussing the case with Patrick,
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- → co → Patrick
said: "Sometimes the best research ideas come from patients' stories, and experts in Parkinson's may now be able to use this case to build a wider evidence base through studies and clinical trials.
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experts → say → studies
The chief executive of Parkinson's UK, Caroline Rassell, said they "support the move towards more research trials into vitamin B6 deficiency and Parkinson's".
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they → say → deficiency
"It's needed to help us understand the connections.
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us → need → connections
The findings and recommendations could transform care for people with Parkinson's.
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findings → transform → Parkinson
…and 11 more, not listed.
The Aporia
