DeCure's autonomous Rare AI scientist is researching a drug-repurposing hypothesis for acanthosis nigricans — screening already-approved drugs against its 9-gene Open Targets disease module to publish open-access research. Research is fast; the path to publication is funded in milestone stages.
Disease moduleAcanthosis nigricans maps to a 9-gene Open Targets module — the target space DeCure's AI scientist screens approved drugs against.
DeCure.ai methodSignature reversal (LINCS) plus network proximity (STRING) rank already-approved drugs likely to perturb this module — the same engine that produces DeCure.ai's repurposing hypotheses.
Repurposing thesisScreening approved medicines against this disease module, then publishing the evidence for the strongest candidate. Known pharmacology and human exposure data make the first question sharper — they do not establish safety or efficacy in a new indication.
Research record
01
ResearchComing soon
Candidate research + dossier — target rationale, drug-repurposing thesis and evidence pack.proof: Published dossier + on-chain hash
02
ValidationComing soon
In-vitro biological validation at a contract research org (CRO).proof: CRO contract + in-vitro report
03
Peer review & paperComing soon
Peer-reviewed paper published open-access (preprint + journal).proof: DOI + open-access link + on-chain hash
Current lead
No approved-drug candidate for acanthosis nigricans is corroborated in the literature DeepSearch retrieved. Some conditions are managed with non-pharmacological care — a device, surgery or physical therapy — rather than a medicine; that may be the case here, or the literature we found may simply be too sparse yet to support a drug-repurposing angle.
Molecular view
brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) — BDNF is one of the genes genetically linked to this disease in Open Targets — shown as context, not as a drug target we're pursuing: no approved-drug candidate for this disease is yet corroborated in the literature we found.
Loading structure…
helix sheet ipadrag to rotate · scroll to zoom
RCSB Protein Data Bank · entry 1BND · 2.3 Å · ligand ISOPROPYL ALCOHOL (IPA). Experimental structure, not a prediction.
What the evidence adds up to
A systematic review of drug-induced acanthosis nigricans identified 13 drugs from 38 studies, with nicotinic acid and insulin the two most frequently reported causes. The authors note that many earlier listings were based on single case reports without biopsy confirmation, documentation of clearing on drug cessation, or evidence of recurrence on rechallenge. A new classification system was proposed, but the review does not provide response rates or sample sizes for any specific drug.
A 1947 report states that among roughly 400 published cases, the condition was divided almost equally between an adult type (after age 20, usually associated with intra-abdominal malignancy) and a juvenile benign type (under 20, without internal malignancy). The author cautions that no strict age division is possible, as some juvenile-type patients developed malignancy before 20 or later.
A 2019 review of current therapies states that treatment should focus on the underlying condition—insulin resistance, diabetes, obesity, malignancy, endocrine disorders, or drug reactions. It notes that skin lesions have an important impact on quality of life but does not report numeric outcomes for any therapy. A 1984 article titled "Benign familial acanthosis nigricans" provides no data on treatment or outcomes.
What is missing: no randomised controlled trials of any topical or systemic treatment for acanthosis nigricans are reported in these abstracts. There are no data on patient stratification by insulin resistance, obesity, or genetic subtype. No funding for such trials is mentioned.
Evidence
Retrieved by DeepSearch across 234,678,978 indexed works and resolved on OpenAlex — ranked by citations, including the results that did not work.
Dermatologic Therapy · 2021 · 16 citations
Drug‐induced acanthosis nigricans: A systematic review and new classification
AbstractDrug-induced acanthosis nigricans is an uncommon subtype of acanthosis nigricans and the data on this topic is not well understood by clinicians as it is presently limited in the literature. Previous reports of drug-induced acanthosis nigricans have simply consisted of a list of drugs possibly implicated in causing acanthosis nigricans. Several drugs listed are based on single case reports without biopsy confirmation, report of clearing on stopping the drug or reporting on whether acanthosis nigricans recurred with drug rechallenge. A comprehensive literature search was conducted using PubMed, EMBASE(Ovid), Cochrane Library, Scopus, and Web of Science electronic databases. The authors screened the initial result of the search strategy by title and abstract using the following inclusion criteria: eligible studies included those with patients who developed acanthosis nigricans secondary to a drug. This study is the first to comprehensively review the drugs that have been implicated in the development of acanthosis nigricans. A total of 38 studies were included in the systematic review, and a total of 13 acanthosis nigricans inducing drugs were identified. Nicotinic acid and insulin were the two most significant drugs that were reported to cause acanthosis nigricans. By using the results of this study, we created a revised classification system of drug-induced acanthosis nigricans which can be used as a concise framework for clinicians to refer to.
Archives of Dermatology and Syphilology · 1947 · 15 citations
ACANTHOSIS NIGRICANS JUVENILIS ASSOCIATED WITH OBESITY
AbstractACANTHOSIS nigricans has been a disease of interest to dermatologists and internists since it was first independently described in 1890 by Pollitzer 1 and Janovsky. 2 Reports of about 400 cases of acanthosis nigricans have appeared to date in the medical literature. 3 The conditions in these cases have been divided almost equally into the adult type, occurring in persons after the age of 20 years, which is usually associated with intra-abdominal malignant growth, and the juvenile benign type, occurring in persons under 20 years of age, without evidence of internal malignant growth. According to Curth, 3c however, no strict dividing line in age is possible between the so-called malignant and benign forms of acanthosis nigricans, as in some of the cases of the juvenile type either an internal malignant growth has developed while the patient was under 20 years of age or an internal malignant growth has appeared later in
British Journal of Dermatology · 1984 · 1 citations
(34) Benign familial acanthosis nigricans
AbstractJournal Article (34) Benign familial acanthosis nigricans Get access T.A.J. Dawson T.A.J. Dawson Craigavon Area Hospital, Craigavon, Northern Ireland Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar British Journal of Dermatology, Volume 111, Issue s26, 1 July 1984, Pages 78–79, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2133.1984.tb05304.x Published: 01 July 1984
Effectiveness of current therapies in acanthosis nigricans
AbstractAcanthosis nigricans is usually associated with insulin resistance, diabetes, obesity, internal malignancy, endocrine disorders and drug reactions. The treatment should be centralized on the underlying condition of acanthosis nigricans. Although the main therapeutic behavior is represented by the treatment of the primary cause, skin lesions should not be omitted from the patient’s perspective, having an important impact on the quality of life. The current review highlights the effectiveness of current acanthosis nigricans therapies.
Disease module: DeepOracle (Open Targets). Structures: RDKit from PubChem SMILES. Literature: retrieved by DeepSearch across 234,678,978 indexed works (targeted per-candidate search), resolved on OpenAlex.
DeCure is a research and publication project, not medical advice and not a treatment. "DeCure for X" describes a research goal, not a claim that a cure exists. Backing a cure is a contribution to fund the research — it is not an investment, and confers no yield, royalty, equity or IP ownership. Papers are published open-access by the DeCure.ai DAO.
