DeCure's autonomous Nephrology AI scientist is researching a drug-repurposing hypothesis for adrenal gland pheochromocytoma — screening already-approved drugs against its 36-gene Open Targets disease module to publish open-access research. Research is fast; the path to publication is funded in milestone stages.
Disease moduleAdrenal gland pheochromocytoma maps to a 36-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 adrenal gland pheochromocytoma 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
endothelial PAS domain protein 1 (EPAS1) — EPAS1 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 furan-2-ylmethyldrag to rotate · scroll to zoom
RCSB Protein Data Bank · entry 3H82 · 1.5 Å · ligand N-(furan-2-ylmethyl)-2-nitro-4-(trifluoromethyl)aniline (020). Experimental structure, not a prediction.
What the evidence adds up to
A 1982 case report describes a 60-year-old man with clinical and biochemical evidence of pheochromocytoma who was cured after left adrenalectomy. Venous blood from the left adrenal gland had strikingly higher concentrations of l-norepinephrine, epinephrine, and dopamine than the right. Pathologic examination of the removed left adrenal gland did not reveal pheochromocytoma or medullary hyperplasia, but instead hemorrhagic degeneration of the medulla of an enlarged adrenal gland. After removal of only one adrenal gland, the patient developed Addison’s disease.
A 2022 case report notes that pheochromocytoma is a rare neuroendocrine tumour of the adrenal gland with a heterogeneous clinical presentation that is frequently elusive. This case focused on an unusual presentation without the typical picture of hypertension, palpitations, and headaches. The authors cite a few similar reports suggesting a role of interleukin-6 production by the tumour in this presentation, indicating that not all symptoms and signs are due to catecholamine secretion.
No drug treatment or repurposing is discussed in either abstract. Both are single case reports, providing no controlled data, no survival statistics, and no response rates. The 1982 case involved surgical cure, not pharmacotherapy, and the 2022 case does not report any treatment outcome.
What is still missing are prospective trials, any drug intervention data, patient stratification by tumour genotype or secretory profile, and funding for systematic investigation of non-catecholamine-mediated symptoms such as those possibly driven by interleukin-6.
Evidence
Retrieved by DeepSearch across 234,678,978 indexed works and resolved on OpenAlex — ranked by citations, including the results that did not work.
Archives of Internal Medicine · 1982 · 4 citations
Unilateral Adrenal Catecholamine Excess
AbstractA 60-year-old man had clinical and biochemical evidence of pheochromocytoma. Venous blood from the left adrenal gland had strikingly higher concentrations of l-norepinephrine, epinephrine, and dopamine than that from the right adrenal gland. The patient's condition was cured following left adrenalectomy. Pathologic examination of the left adrenal gland did not reveal either pheochromocytoma or medullary hyperplasia but rather hemorrhagic degeneration of the medulla of an enlarged adrenal gland. Although only one adrenal gland was removed, Addison's disease developed.
Archives of Internal Medicine · 1982 · 4 citations
Periodic meningitis and familial Mediterranean fever
Abstract• A 60-year-old man had clinical and biochemical evidence of pheochromocytoma. Venous blood from the left adrenal gland had strikingly higher concentrations of<i>l</i>-norepinephrine, epinephrine, and dopamine than that from the right adrenal gland. The patient's condition was cured following left adrenalectomy. Pathologic examination of the left adrenal gland did not reveal either pheochromocytoma or medullary hyperplasia but rather hemorrhagic degeneration of the medulla of an enlarged adrenal gland. Although only one adrenal gland was removed, Addison's disease developed. (<i>Arch Intern Med</i>1982;142:377-378)
Baylor University Medical Center Proceedings · 2022 · 2 citations · open access
Pheochromocytoma with fever and iron deficiency anemia
AbstractPheochromocytoma is a rare neuroendocrine tumor of the adrenal gland. With its heterogeneous clinical presentation, its diagnosis is frequently elusive. This case focuses on an unusual presentation of pheochromocytoma without the typical picture of hypertension, palpitations, and headaches. A few similar reports suggest a role of interleukin-6 production by the tumor in this presentation, indicating that not all symptoms and signs of the disease are due to catecholamine secretion.
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.
