DeCure's autonomous Rare AI scientist is researching a drug-repurposing hypothesis for cataract 16 multiple types — 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 moduleCataract 16 multiple types 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 cataract 16 multiple types 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
crystallin alpha B (CRYAB) — CRYAB 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 2YGD · 9.4 Å · ligand none (apo structure). Experimental structure, not a prediction.
What the evidence adds up to
In a prospective study of 20,599 male physicians followed for a median of 13.0 years, 1,923 developed cataract that reduced visual acuity. Among these incident cases, 45% had two types of cataract and 12% had all three. Diabetes and body mass index showed different relationships across cataract types, while smoking, family history of coronary disease, and multivitamin use had similar relative risks across types. The study used competing risk survival analysis to account for tied event times for different cataract types.
The Age-Related Eye Disease Study reported ten-year cumulative incidence rates among participants aged 55–80 years: 43.6% for any cataract, 23.1% for nuclear cataract, 22.0% for cortical cataract, 13.1% for posterior subcapsular cataract, and 26.8% for cataract surgery. Incidence of all cataract types and surgery was significantly higher with increasing age. Females had a higher incidence of any, nuclear, and cortical cataract and cataract surgery. Cortical cataract incidence was higher in non-white participants.
The Melton Eye Study examined associations between eleven lens features graded with the Oxford Clinical Cataract Classification and Grading System in 560 subjects. White nuclear scatter and brunescence were closely related, as were coronary flakes and focal-dots, but these two groupings were negatively associated. Cortical spoke, fibrefolds, and waterclefts were associated with one another and positively associated with coronary flakes and focal-dots. Posterior subcapsular and anterior subcapsular opacity were associated with one another and with cortical spokes.
What is still missing is a unified grading system that can be applied across studies to allow direct comparison of subtype incidence and risk factor profiles. The competing risks approach requires prospective data with long follow-up and centralised photographic grading, which is expensive and time-consuming. No trial has yet tested whether stratifying patients by these lens feature associations improves prediction of progression or response to any intervention.
Evidence
Retrieved by DeepSearch across 234,678,978 indexed works and resolved on OpenAlex — ranked by citations, including the results that did not work.
Ophthalmic Epidemiology · 2009 · 54 citations · open access
Evaluation of Risk Factors for Cataract Types in a Competing Risks Framework
AbstractPURPOSE: In prospective studies of incident cataract, a person may have developed two or all three of cortical, nuclear sclerotic and posterior subscapsular cataract at the time when clinically significant cataract is apparent. One can compare the impact of risk factors on different types of cataract with methods of competing risk survival analysis that account for tied events. METHODS: We studied risk factors for incident cataract among 20,599 participants in the Physicians' Health Study; 1,923 of whom developed cataract that reduced visual acuity over a median follow-up of 13.0 years. Among incident cases, 45% had two types of cataract and an additional 12% had all three. Proportional hazards models, adjusted for tied failures through use of generalized estimating equations, provided comparisons across different cataract types. Stratified analyses by type with age as the time scale were used to accommodate the strong but different relationships of age with occurrence of different cataract types. RESULTS: Analyses found different relationships of diabetes and body mass index, but similar relationships of smoking, family history of coronary disease and multivitamin use, across different cataract types. A simplified model provided common estimates for relative risks associated with those characteristics with similar effects across cataract types. CONCLUSIONS: Whereas polytomous logistic regression has proven useful for comparisons of risks across cataract types in retrospective and cross-sectional studies, this approach based on methods of survival analysis has greater flexibility in prospective studies with variable follow-up and frequently tied event times for different cataract types.
Ten-Year Incidence Rates of Age-Related Cataract in the Age-Related Eye Disease Study (AREDS): AREDS Report No. 33
AbstractPURPOSE: To investigate the long-term incidence of age-related cataract and cataract surgery in the Age-Related Eye Disease Study (AREDS) cohort. METHODS: Baseline and annual lens photographs of participants, aged 55-80 years, were graded centrally for nuclear, cortical, and posterior subcapsular (PSC) lens opacities using the AREDS System for Classifying Cataracts. Progression from a baseline status of no or mild lens opacity to at least moderate severity was analyzed and cumulative incidence estimated rates were calculated for each lens opacity type and cataract surgery stratified by age, sex, race, age-related macular degeneration category, multivitamin (Centrum) use and history of diabetes. RESULTS: The ten-year cumulative incidence was 43.6% for any cataract, 23.1% for nuclear cataract, 22.0% for cortical cataract, 13.1% for PSC cataract, and 26.8% for cataract surgery. The 5- and 10-year incidence rates of all cataract types and cataract surgery were significantly higher with increasing age. Females had a higher incidence of any, nuclear and cortical cataract and cataract surgery (p = 0.02-0.05). Incidence of cortical cataract was higher in non-white participants (p = 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: These results are largely consistent with the results of previous observational studies. Long-term incidence rates of type-specific cataract can be useful in designing clinical studies of age-related cataract.
Associations between lens features assessed in the Oxford Clinical Cataract Classification and Grading System
AbstractPURPOSE: To study the associations between eleven lens features graded according to the Oxford Clinical Cataract Classification and Grading System (OCCCGS). METHOD: 560 subjects taking part in the Melton Eye Study had their lenses graded according to the OCCCGS by one of two examiners. Associations between features were examined using log-linear models for categorised grades. Adjustment was made for age, sex and grader. RESULTS: Within subjects, the two nuclear features, white nuclear scatter and brunescence, are closely related with one another, as are coronary flakes and focal-dots, but these two groupings are negatively associated. Cortical spoke, fibrefolds and waterclefts are all associated with one another and this group is positively associated with coronary flakes and focal-dots. Posterior subcapsular and anterior subcapsular opacity are associated with one another and with cortical spokes. A within-eye analysis gives similar results. CONCLUSION: These associations may be important in defining cataract subtypes and in identifying minor features that indicate early cataract development.
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.
