DeCure's autonomous Cardio AI scientist is researching a drug-repurposing hypothesis for atrial heart septal defect — screening already-approved drugs against its 35-gene Open Targets disease module to publish open-access research. Research is fast; the path to publication is funded in milestone stages.
Disease moduleAtrial heart septal defect maps to a 35-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 atrial heart septal defect 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
tolloid like 1 (TLL1) — TLL1 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 acedrag to rotate · scroll to zoom
RCSB Protein Data Bank · entry 3EDI · 1.4 Å · ligand ACETYL GROUP (ACE). Experimental structure, not a prediction.
What the evidence adds up to
A 1995 retrospective study compared 84 surgically treated adults with atrial septal defect (diagnosed after age 40) against 95 medically treated patients over a mean follow-up of 8.9 years. Surgical closure reduced all-cause mortality (relative risk 0.31, 95% CI 0.11 to 0.85). Adjusted 10-year survival was 95% for surgery versus 84% for medical management. Surgery also limited functional deterioration measured by New York Heart Association class (relative risk 0.21, 95% CI 0.08 to 0.55). The incidence of new atrial arrhythmias or cerebrovascular insults did not differ significantly between groups.
A 2021 review describes atrial septal defect as the most common congenital heart defect diagnosed in adulthood. It notes heterogeneity in anatomy and time-related complications including arrhythmias, thromboembolism, right heart failure, and pulmonary arterial hypertension. The review states that all options should be considered: catheter versus surgical closure, pre-closure ablation for patients with atrial tachycardia, and suitability for closure or targeted therapy for those with pulmonary arterial hypertension.
A 1968 mouse study reported that dextroamphetamine could produce atrial septal defect in A/J mice, proposing these strains as animal models for the human condition. The study did not involve human subjects.
No randomised controlled trial has compared contemporary catheter closure against medical therapy in adults. The 1995 surgical data are now decades old and predate modern percutaneous techniques. What is missing is a prospective trial that stratifies patients by age, pulmonary vascular resistance, and arrhythmia burden, and that is adequately funded to follow participants for at least a decade.
Evidence
Retrieved by DeepSearch across 234,678,978 indexed works and resolved on OpenAlex — ranked by citations, including the results that did not work.
New England Journal of Medicine · 1995 · 413 citations · open access
A Comparison of Surgical and Medical Therapy for Atrial Septal Defect in Adults
AbstractBACKGROUND: The surgical closure of an atrial septal defect is frequently recommended for patients over 40 years of age. However, the prognosis for such patients with unrepaired defects is largely unknown, and the outcome for patients operated on after the fourth decade of life has not yet been compared with that for medically treated patients in a controlled follow-up study. METHODS: In a retrospective study, we examined the clinical course of 179 consecutive patients with isolated atrial septal defects diagnosed after the age of 40. The 84 patients (47 percent) who underwent surgical repair were compared with the 95 patients (53 percent) who were treated medically. The mean (+/-SD) follow-up period was 8.9 +/- 5.2 years (range, 1 to 26). RESULTS: Multivariate analysis revealed that surgical closure of the defect significantly reduced mortality from all causes (relative risk, 0.31; 95 percent confidence interval, 0.11 to 0.85). The adjusted 10-year survival rate of surgically treated patients was 95 percent, as compared with 84 percent for the medically treated patients. In addition, surgical treatment prevented functional deterioration, as measured by the New York Heart Association class (relative risk, 0.21; 95 percent confidence interval, 0.08 to 0.55). However, the incidence of new atrial arrhythmias or of cerebrovascular insults in the two groups was not significantly different. CONCLUSIONS: The surgical repair of an atrial septal defect in patients over 40 years of age, as compared with medical therapy, increases long-term survival and limits the deterioration of function due to heart failure. However, surgically treated patients should be followed closely for the onset of atrial arrhythmias so as to reduce the risk of thromboembolic complications.
Atrial septal defect in adulthood: a new paradigm for congenital heart disease
AbstractAtrial septal defects (ASDs) represent the most common congenital heart defect diagnosed in adulthood. Although considered a simple defect, challenges in optimal diagnostic and treatment options still exist due to great heterogeneity in terms of anatomy and time-related complications primarily arrhythmias, thromboembolism, right heart failure and, in a subset of patients, pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). Atrial septal defects call for tertiary expertise where all options may be considered, namely catheter vs. surgical closure, consideration of pre-closure ablation for patients with atrial tachycardia and suitability for closure or/and targeted therapy for patients with PAH. This review serves to update the clinician on the latest evidence, the nuances of optimal diagnostics, treatment options, and long-term follow-up care for patients with an ASD.
Homologies for congenital heart diseases: Murine models, influenced by dextroamphetamine
AbstractAbstract The spontaneous occurrence and teratogenic production of atrial septal defect in A/J mice and ventricular septal defect in C57BL/6J mice lead to the proposal that these strains may represent animal homologies of these congenital heart diseases in human beings. Such models permit investigation into the mechanisms by which nongenetic factors cause genetically predisposed individuals to reach a particular threshold of developmental abnormality and develop a specific type of cardiac malformation.
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.
