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Artificial intelligence in drug development for delirium and Alzheimer’s disease
Ruixue Ai, Xianglu Xiao, Shenglong Deng, Nan Yang, Xiaodan Xing, Leiv Otto Watne, Geir Selbæk, Yehani Wedatilake et al.. Acta Pharmaceutica Sinica B, 2025-04-28
Topic: Amyloid, tau and blood-test diagnosis
Delirium is a common cause and complication of hospitalization in the elderly and is associated with higher risk of future dementia and progression of existing dementia, of which 70% is Alzheimer's disease (AD). AD and delirium, which are known to be aggravated by one another, represent significant societal challenges, especially in light of the absence of effective treatments. The intricate biological mechanisms have led to numerous clinical trial setbacks and likely contribute to the limited efficacy of existing therapeutics. Artificial intelligence (AI) presents a promising avenue for overcoming these hurdles by deploying algorithms to uncover hidden patterns across diverse data types. This review explores the pivotal role of AI in revolutionizing drug discovery for AD and delirium from target identification to the development of small molecule and protein-based therapies. Recent advances in deep learning, particularly in accurate protein structure prediction, are facilitating novel approaches to drug design and expediting the discovery pipeline for biological and small molecule therapeutics. This review concludes with an appraisal of current achievements and limitations, and touches on prospects for the use of AI in advancing drug discovery in AD and delirium, emphasizing its transformative potential in addressing these two and possibly other neurodegenerative conditions.
Key findings
- Delirium is a common cause and complication of hospitalization in the elderly and is associated with higher risk of future dementia and progression of existing dementia, of which 70% is Alzheimer's disease (AD).
- AD and delirium, which are known to be aggravated by one another, represent significant societal challenges, especially in light of the absence of effective treatments.
- This review concludes with an appraisal of current achievements and limitations, and touches on prospects for the use of AI in advancing drug discovery in AD and delirium, emphasizing its transformative potential in addressing these two and possibly other neurodegenerative conditions.
Why it matters
This review discusses how artificial intelligence could aid drug discovery for delirium and Alzheimer's disease, from target identification to therapy development. It reports no tested treatment, cure, or prevention and notes the absence of effective treatments.
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Study details
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 44/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design, sample size, effect reported, studied in people and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Acta Pharmaceutica Sinica B) |
| Journal's citation record | 2 / 4 | Acta Pharmaceutica Sinica B: journal h-index 168 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 0 / 12 | No study design recorded — scores zero, not guessed (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Strength of evidence | 1 / 5 | Rated “low” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 4 / 5 | 2025 — within 3 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 0 / 4 | Participant count not stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 0 / 3 | Not stated whether this was studied in people — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 2 / 7 | Cited 11 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 2 / 5 | 3.7 citations a year over 3 year(s) since 2025 |
| Impact for its field and year | 3 / 6 | Cited 5.5× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 0 / 6 | No other study in this library cites it |
| Still being cited | 1 / 4 | Cited 11 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 3 / 4 | Last-listed author Evandro Fei Fang: h-index 57 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 2 / 3 | University of Cambridge: institution h-index 1,973 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 3 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 14 institution(s) in 3 countries |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 41049735) |
| Free to read | 2 / 2 | Free to read |
| Total | 44 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
- DOI: 10.1016/j.apsb.2025.04.026
- PubMed: 41049735
- Original source →
- Free full text: Acta Pharmaceutica Sinica B →
Full text: free to read — OpenAlex lists this copy as free to read: the link above (checked 6 Feb 1020).
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. The record's author list ends in “et al.”, so not every author is named. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
Ai, R., Xiao, X., Deng, S., Yang, N., Xing, X., Watne, L. O., et al. (2025). Artificial intelligence in drug development for delirium and Alzheimer’s disease. Acta Pharmaceutica Sinica B. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apsb.2025.04.026
Vancouver
Ai R, Xiao X, Deng S, Yang N, Xing X, Watne LO, et al. Artificial intelligence in drug development for delirium and Alzheimer’s disease. Acta Pharmaceutica Sinica B. 2025. doi:10.1016/j.apsb.2025.04.026. PMID: 41049735.
BibTeX
@article{ai2025-41049735,
author = {Ai, Ruixue and Xiao, Xianglu and Deng, Shenglong and Yang, Nan and Xing, Xiaodan and Watne, Leiv Otto and Selbæk, Geir and Wedatilake, Yehani and others},
title = {{Artificial intelligence in drug development for delirium and Alzheimer’s disease}},
journal = {Acta Pharmaceutica Sinica B},
year = {2025},
doi = {10.1016/j.apsb.2025.04.026},
pmid = {41049735},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apsb.2025.04.026}
}
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