DeCure's autonomous Respiratory AI scientist is researching a drug-repurposing hypothesis for central sleep apnea syndrome — 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 moduleCentral sleep apnea syndrome 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 central sleep apnea syndrome 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
choline O-acetyltransferase (CHAT) — CHAT 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 2~{r},3~{s},4~{r},5~{r}drag to rotate · scroll to zoom
RCSB Protein Data Bank · entry 7AMD · 2.25 Å · ligand [[(2~{R},3~{S},4~{R},5~{R})-5-(6-aminopurin-9-yl)-4-oxidanyl-3-phosphonooxy-oxolan-2-yl]methoxy-oxidanyl-phosphoryl] [(3~{R})-2,2-dimethyl-4-[[3-[2-[(1~{R})-2-(1-methylpyridin-4-yl)-1-naphthalen-1-yl-ethyl]sulfanylethylamino]-3-oxidanylidene-propyl]amino]-3-oxidanyl-4-oxidanylidene-butyl] hydrogen phosphate (RMW). Experimental structure, not a prediction.
What the evidence adds up to
A 2023 case report describes a 31-year-old woman with multiple sclerosis and severe central sleep apnoea whose condition improved to mild central sleep apnoea after she received dimethyl fumarate for multiple sclerosis. No other drug has been shown in the provided abstracts to improve central sleep apnoea. A 2014 review of central sleep-apnoea syndrome notes that treatment differs among the six subtypes recognised in the International Classification of Sleep Disorders, but does not report any drug that has demonstrated efficacy in controlled trials.
The abstracts on obstructive sleep apnoea do not apply to central sleep apnoea. A 2003 trial of locally delivered nicotine via a tooth patch in ten subjects with obstructive sleep apnoea found no effect on the apnoea-hypopnoea index; the index was 26.4 at baseline, 26.8 with a 2-mg patch, and 26.8 with a 4-mg patch during the first four hours when saliva nicotine levels were high. A 2022 review of smoking and obstructive sleep apnoea states that the effect of smoking on sleep-disordered breathing is not clear and that data on smoking cessation pharmacotherapy for obstructive sleep apnoea are limited. A 2024 expert opinion piece on pharmacotherapy for obstructive sleep apnoea mentions weight-loss agents, ventilation activators, muscle and nervous system stimulants, wake-promoting agents, and hypnotics, but reports that efforts to identify medications that target the causes of sleep apnoea have met with mixed success.
What is still missing for central sleep apnoea are any randomised controlled trials of drug therapy, a clear understanding of which patient subgroups might respond to a given agent, and funding for such trials. The single case report of dimethyl fumarate is not evidence of efficacy.
Evidence
Retrieved by DeepSearch across 234,678,978 indexed works and resolved on OpenAlex — ranked by citations, including the results that did not work.
American Journal of Therapeutics · 2003 · 36 citations
Clinical Effects of Locally Delivered Nicotine in Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome
AbstractObstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a common disorder characterized by disordered breathing and associated with increased mortality and cardiovascular morbidity. A factor in the pathogenesis of OSA is hypotonia of the upper airway muscles during sleep, resulting in occlusion of the upper airway. Nicotine may be a suitable drug because it is a stimulant of breathing and activity of oropharyngeal muscles. A novel delivery system, a nicotine tooth patch (NTP) that releases nicotine continuously, has been developed by Perio Products (Jerusalem, Israel). A 2-mg NTP achieved low plasma levels of nicotine with high saliva levels (62 microg/mL), presumably resulting in high nicotine levels in the oropharynx. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of two doses of NTP, 2 mg and 4 mg, on the clinical features in OSA. Ten subjects with OSA were admitted overnight and monitored by polysomnography at baseline and during two treatments. The treatments were blind and in a randomized order. After a 4.3-mg NTP, T(max) was 40 +/- 16 minutes, C(max) was 123 +/- 43 microg/mL, and terminal T(1/2) was 29 +/- 11 minutes in saliva. Substantial nicotine levels persisted in saliva for approximately 4 hours. There was no effect of nicotine on the apnea-hypopnea index, even during the first 4 hours when there were high levels of nicotine in saliva (26.4 +/- 11.6, 26.8 +/- 19.5, and 26.8 +/- 23), or on sleep stages. Eppworth Sleepiness Scale scores were lower with a 4.3-mg NTP (9.1 +/- 4.5, 9.1 +/- 7.7, and 5.9 +/- 6.5). Locally delivered nicotine at the doses used had no significant effect on OSA.
Journal of Clinical Medicine · 2022 · 32 citations · open access
Does Smoking Affect OSA? What about Smoking Cessation?
AbstractThe connection between smoking and Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is not yet clear. There are studies that have confirmed the effect of smoking on sleep disordered breathing, whereas others did not. Nicotine affects sleep, as smokers have prolonged total sleep and REM latency, reduced sleep efficiency, total sleep time, and slow wave sleep. Smoking cessation has been related with impaired sleep. The health consequences of cigarette smoking are well documented, but the effect of smoking cessation on OSA has not been extensively studied. Smoking cessation should improve OSA as upper airway oedema may reduce, but there is limited data to support this hypothesis. The impact of smoking cessation pharmacotherapy on OSA has been studied, especially for nicotine replacement therapy (NRT). However, there are limited data on other smoking cessation medications as bupropion, varenicline, nortriptyline, clonidine, and cytisine. The aim of this review was to explore the current evidence on the association between smoking and OSA, to evaluate if smoking cessation affects OSA, and to investigate the possible effects of different pharmacologic strategies offered for smoking cessation on OSA.
Tuberkuloz ve Toraks · 2014 · 5 citations · open access
The Treatment of Central Sleep-Apnea Syndrome, Updated Information, and Review of the Literature
AbstractCentral sleep-apnea syndrome (CSAS) is a disease state characterized by respiratory arrest as a result of decrease or lack of respiratory drive originating from respiratory center. Although it is seen in less than 5% of the casses who consult to the sleep disorders center, incidence of CSAS increases in the presence of congestive heart and/or renal failure, and central nervous system abnormalities. Treatment of CSAS which has been analyzed under six headings in the last version of International Classification of Sleep Disorders (ICSD-2), differs among each type of CSAS. In this review, our aim is to analyze treatment alternatives for CSAS in the light of currently updated information.
Expert Opinion on Pharmacotherapy · 2024 · 5 citations · open access
Tackling obstructive sleep apnea with pharmacotherapeutics: expert guidance
AbstractINTRODUCTION: The efficacy of non-pharmacotherapeutic treatment of obstructive sleep apnea, a highly prevalent condition with serious cardiometabolic and neurocognitive health consequences, is well established. Supplementing traditional treatment strategies with medications can improve symptoms and reduce side effects. Efforts to identify medications that target the causes of sleep apnea have met with mixed success. However, this remains a worthwhile objective for researchers to pursue, given the potential benefit pharmacotherapy could bring to those patients who reject or struggle to adhere to existing treatments. AREAS COVERED: This article presents the case for obstructive sleep apnea pharmacotherapy including drugs that reduce the occurrence of apnea events, such as weight loss agents, ventilation activators and muscle and nervous system stimulants, drugs that alleviate symptoms, such as wake-promoting agents for excessive daytime sleepiness, and drugs that improve adherence to existing treatments, such as hypnotics. Literature was accessed from PubMed between 1 March 2024 and 18 April 2024. EXPERT OPINION: Exciting recent advances in both our understanding of obstructive sleep apnea pathology and in the techniques used to identify therapeutic agents and their targets combine to embolden a positive outlook for the expanded use of drugs in tackling this consequential disease.
[Autophagy regulates multiple organ injury in obstructive sleep apnea and its related mechanisms].
AbstractObstructive sleep apnea is a sleep-related hypoxia/reoxygenation syndrome that can lead to cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, glucose and lipid metabolism, nervous system and even multiple organ damage, and is a serious threat to human health. Autophagy is a process by which eukaryotic cells rely on the lysosome pathway to degrade abnormal proteins and organelles, maintain homeostasis of intracellular environment and achieve self-renewal. Many studies have found that obstructive sleep apnea causes damage to myocardial, hippocampus, kidney and other organs, and its mechanism may be related to autophagy.
Rivista di diritto romano · 2013 · 0 citations · open access
Dal mondo antico alle radici della storia europea
AbstractOver the past few decades there has been a significant increase in research focusing on the pathophysiology, diagnosis, and treatment of sleep apnea. However, there is still a long way to go in creating standard evidence-based medical practice for the diagnosis, evaluation, and treatment of sleep apnea patients. Current and future directions of sleep surgery and other treatments are discussed here.
Drugs in Context · 2023 · 0 citations · open access
Sleep-related breathing disorder (central sleep apnoea) improved coincidentally by medical therapy with fumarates (dimethyl fumarate)
AbstractCentral sleep apnoea (CSA) is a sleep disorder characterized by the repeated cessation or reduction of both airflow and ventilatory effort when sleeping. Individuals with central breathing disorders have difficulty in receiving appropriate medical treatment. In this article, we describe a case study of a 31-year-old woman known to have multiple sclerosis and concomitant severe CSA. She received the medication dimethyl fumarate for the treatment of multiple sclerosis, and her CSA significantly improved to mild CSA after the treatment.
AbstractCentral sleep apnea is a manifestation of breathing instability in a variety of clinical conditions and is often bundled under the rubric of obstructive sleep apnea. Central sleep apnea occurs because of a transient cessation of ventilatory motor output, under several physiologic or pathologic conditions. This chapter will address the pathogenesis, clinical features, and management of central sleep apnea.
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.
