DeCure's autonomous Rare AI scientist is researching a drug-repurposing hypothesis for aortitis — screening already-approved drugs against its 1-gene Open Targets disease module to publish open-access research. Research is fast; the path to publication is funded in milestone stages.
Disease moduleAortitis maps to a 1-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 aortitis 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
colony stimulating factor 3 (CSF3) — CSF3 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 apo structuredrag to rotate · scroll to zoom
RCSB Protein Data Bank · entry 1RHG · 2.2 Å · ligand none (apo structure). Experimental structure, not a prediction.
What the evidence adds up to
A 1969 review of 52 aortitis syndrome patients found a female predominance (male to female ratio 1:4.2) and a mean age of onset of 23.6 years. The authors speculated that preceding nasopharyngeal or pulmonary infections might facilitate an autoimmune process. They noted that arterial lesions were fixed early in the disease course and that stenosis and occlusion were the principal changes, though some cases showed dilatation or aneurysm. Early effects of steroid hormones were evaluated, but no specific response rates or survival data are given in the abstract.
A 2023 single-centre retrospective study of 120 non-infectious aortitis patients (59% female) reported that systemic inflammatory response syndrome was the most common presentation (47.5%), and 10.8% were diagnosed only after a vascular complication. All patients had raised inflammatory markers (median ESR 70 mm/h, CRP 68 mg/L). Prednisolone (91.5%) and methotrexate (89.8%) were the most used treatments. Over the disease course, 48.3% developed vascular complications: ischaemic complications in 25%, aortic dilatation or aneurysms in 29.2%, and dissection in 4.2%. The isolated aortitis subgroup had a dissection risk of 16.6% compared to 1.96% in all other types. The authors state that methotrexate appears effective but note gaps in evidence for longer-term management of relapsing disease.
A 2020 case report describes a 58-year-old man with infectious aortitis secondary to a perforated sigmoid colon and a 4 cm inflamed abdominal aortic aneurysm. The organism isolated was Escherichia coli, not the more commonly reported Salmonella species. The patient required emergency Hartmann’s procedure and open aneurysm repair. The report notes that infectious aortitis often presents with vague symptoms but carries a high rate of complications and mortality.
What is still missing are prospective trials comparing treatment strategies, reliable biomarkers to distinguish active inflammation from damage, and stratification of patients by aetiology (infectious versus non-infectious, isolated versus systemic) to guide therapy. Funding for multicentre registries and randomised controlled trials in this rare disease remains inadequate.
Evidence
Retrieved by DeepSearch across 234,678,978 indexed works and resolved on OpenAlex — ranked by citations, including the results that did not work.
Japanese Heart Journal · 1969 · 88 citations · open access
Clinical Observation of 52 Cases of Aortitis Syndrome
Abstract(1) Records of 52 patients with aortitis syndrome were reviewed. The male to female ratio was 1: 4.2, and the age of the onset averaged 23.6-year-old.(2) There was a tendency that the lesions of the thoracic and abdominal aorta types involved younger patients than the aortic arch type. The observation of clinical course suggested the distribution of arterial lesions was fixed in the initial period of the disease.(3) It was speculated that preceding infections, especially nasopharyngeal and pulmonary infections, may facilitate an autoimmune process which has been considered to be related to the development of aortitis syndrome.(4) The principal arterial changes were stenosis and occlusion, but dilatation or aneurysm formation was found in some cases. The distribution of these lesions was analysed.(5) The symptoms were classified into the principal symptoms and the accompanying symptoms, and their time relationship was reviewed.(6) Emphasis was made on the importance of careful palpation of bilateral radial pulses, blood pressure measurement in the both arms and legs and careful auscultation of cardiac and vascular murmurs in the diagnosis of aortitis syndrome. Frequent occurrence of renovascular hypertension and aortic insufficiency associated with aortitis syndrome was pointed out. Ischemic retinal changes were less frequently found than hypertensive changes.(7) Laboratory data were compared between the cases of active inflammatory stage and those of inactive stage.(8) Early effects of steriod hormones were evaluated.
Autoimmunity Reviews · 2023 · 6 citations · open access
Single centre experience of 120 patients with non-infectious aortitis: Clinical features, treatment and complications
AbstractBACKGROUND: Aortitis is an important form of vasculitis with significant risk of complications. Very few studies have provided detailed clinical phenotyping across the whole disease spectrum. Our primary aim was to look the clinical features, management strategies and complications associated with non-infectious aortitis. METHODS: A retrospective review was performed on patients with diagnosis of noninfectious aortitis at the Oxford University hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. Clinicopathologic features were recorded including demographics, presentation, aetiology, laboratory, imaging findings, histopathology, complications, treatment, and outcome. RESULTS: We report the data on 120 patients (59% females). Systemic inflammatory response syndrome constituted the most common presentation (47.5%). 10.8% were diagnosed following a vascular complication (dissection or aneurysm). All patients (n = 120) had raised inflammatory markers (median ESR 70.0 mm/h and CRP 68.0 mg/L). Isolated aortitis subgroup (15%) had significantly higher likelihood of presenting with vascular complications and challenging to diagnose due to non-specific symptoms. Prednisolone (91.5%) and methotrexate (89.8%) were the most used treatment. 48.3% developed vascular complications during the disease course including ischaemic complications (25%), aortic dilatation and aneurysms (29.2%) and dissection (4.2%). Risk of dissection was higher in the isolated aortitis subgroup at 16.6% compared to all other types of aortitis at 1.96%. CONCLUSION: Risk of vascular complications is high in non-infectious aortitis patients during disease course, hence early diagnosis and appropriate management is key. DMARDs such as Methotrexate appear to be effective, nonetheless there remain gaps in evidence for longer-term management of relapsing disease. Dissection risk seems much higher for patients with isolated aortitis.
Mesentery and Peritoneum · 2020 · 0 citations · open access
AB206. Infectious aortitis presenting as a perforated sigmoid colon and inflamed abdominal aortic aneurysm
AbstractBackground: Aortitis is an extensive term that refers to inflammation of the aorta. Aortitis can be categorised into two groups non-infectious and infectious, with Salmonella spp being the most commonly associated organism with infectious aortitis. We report a case of a 58-year-old man who presented with a case of infectious aortitis due to perforated sigmoid colon and a 4 cm inflamed abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA). Methods: Data was collected from patient’s chart and electronic database, laboratory and radiology systems. Results: Based on laboratory investigations, chest X-ray and computed tomography angiography (CTA) the original treatment plan was to treat with best medical therapy. However, the patient’s abdominal pain progressed to severe and he became hypotensive and was taken to theatre. The patient was treated with a joint emergency Hartmann’s procedure for a perforated sigmoid colon and an open repair for his inflamed abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA). Laboratory investigations revealed the organism associated with aortitis was Escherichia coli. Conclusions: Infectious aortitis, often presents with vague symptoms but carries a high rate of complications and mortality. This case is unique because most cases are non-infectious and the organism most commonly isolated is the Salmonella species.
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.
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