DeCure's autonomous Rare AI scientist is researching a drug-repurposing hypothesis for cholelithiasis — screening already-approved drugs against its 41-gene Open Targets disease module to publish open-access research. Research is fast; the path to publication is funded in milestone stages.
Disease moduleCholelithiasis maps to a 41-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 cholelithiasis 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
glucokinase regulator (GCKR) — GCKR 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 f1pdrag to rotate · scroll to zoom
RCSB Protein Data Bank · entry 4BB9 · 1.47 Å · ligand 1-O-phosphono-beta-D-fructopyranose (F1P). Experimental structure, not a prediction.
What the evidence adds up to
Outpatient laparoscopic cholecystectomy was performed on 504 patients between 1999 and 2004. The ambulatory rate was 88.8%, mean hospital stay was 6.1 hours, 10.1% required overnight stays mostly for social reasons, and 1.1% were readmitted. Postoperative complications occurred in 11.6% of the series, with abdominal parietal pain the most frequent. The authors concluded outpatient laparoscopic cholecystectomy is safe and feasible and may represent a new gold standard for symptomatic cholelithiasis.
A 2017–2018 NHANES analysis of 5376 individuals (mean age 51.3, 51.5% female, mean BMI 29.8) found a cholelithiasis prevalence of 11.2% and a diabetes prevalence of 16.2%. Gallstone rates were significantly higher in diabetic patients compared to non-diabetics in both unadjusted (OR 2.30; 95% CI 1.89–2.79) and adjusted models (OR 1.52; 95% CI 1.20–1.92). Insulin use was also a significant predictor of cholelithiasis (adjusted OR 1.52; 95% CI 1.05–2.19). The age at diabetes diagnosis did not significantly influence gallstone rate.
A 2024 review of cholelithiasis summarises current data on aetiology and pathogenetic mechanisms, presents a clinical case, and analyses age and gender groups in Ufa, Republic of Bashkortostan. It states that treatment tactics are determined individually depending on the patient’s concomitant diseases and the course of the disease.
What is still missing is prospective data on whether modifying diabetes control or insulin use alters gallstone incidence, and whether outpatient surgical protocols can be applied to higher-risk populations with multiple comorbidities. No randomised trial has tested a drug to prevent gallstone formation in diabetic patients, and no stratification by gallstone composition or genetic risk has been incorporated into a treatment trial.
Evidence
Retrieved by DeepSearch across 234,678,978 indexed works and resolved on OpenAlex — ranked by citations, including the results that did not work.
Revista Española de Enfermedades Digestivas · 2006 · 53 citations · open access
Outpatient laparoscopic cholecystectomy: A new gold standard for cholecystectomy?
AbstractOBJECTIVE: To contribute our experience for five years in the implemetation of outpatient laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC). PATIENTS: Between January 1999 and March 2004 we performed 504 outpatient LCs. We applied both exclusion and inclusion criteria, an anesthetic and surgical protocol, and discharge-specific criteria. Postoperative management in "fast track" regime. Postoperative period controlled by protocol, including phone calls after cholecystectomy. RESULTS: The ambulatory percentage in the global series was 88.8%, and mean hospital stay was 6.1 hours. Fifty-one patients required overnight stays (10.1%), most of them for "social" causes. Five patients required admission (between 24 and 48 hours) for different causes (conversion to laparotomy, intraoperative neumothorax, and postoperative medical complications). Six patients (1.1%) were readmitted, and we observed 11.6% postoperative complications in the global series, with abdominal parietal pain being most frequent. Phone localization by 22.00 p.m. in the same day of surgery was 100% complete for outpatient cases. Postoperative surveillance within the first month after surgery was completed in 93.9%, and within th first year in 86.7% of patients. CONCLUSIONS: Outpatient LC is safe and feasible, and probably represents a new "gold standard" in the treatment of symptomatic cholelithiasis.
Gastroenterology Review · 2023 · 20 citations · open access
The association between diabetes and gallstones: a nationwide population-based cohort study
AbstractIntroduction: Evidence regarding the association between diabetes mellitus (DM) and cholelithiasis is still inconsistent.Aim: To examine the association between diabetes and gallstones and the commonly associated factors in a nationwide population-based cohort investigation.Material and methods: The demographic and outcome variable data were extracted from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) database for the years 2017-2018.Results: A total of 5376 individuals were included in the final analysis, with a mean age of 51.3 17.8 years.Females constituted 51.5% of the included individuals, and the overall mean body mass index (BMI) was 29.8 7.4 kg/m 2 .The prevalence of diabetes was 16.2% among the included individuals, with a mean age of 50.6 13.6 years at diagnosis of diabetes, and only 4.5% were taking insulin.The prevalence of cholelithiasis was 11.2%, with a mean age of 44.4 16.1 years at diagnosis, and 11.3% had previous cholecystectomy (gallbladder surgery.)There was a significant increase in gallstone rates among diabetic patients as compared to non-diabetics in the unadjusted (OR = 2.30; 95% CI: 1.89-2.79;p < 0.001) and adjusted (OR = 1.52; 95% CI: 1.20-1.92;p < 0.001) models.Moreover, this association was not time-dependent where the "age when first told you had diabetes" did not show a significant influence on the gallstone rate, whether in unadjusted (OR = 1.01; 95% CI: 1.00-1.02;p = 0.221) or adjusted (OR = 1.01; 95% CI: 0.99-1.03;p = 0.395) models.Furthermore, insulin usage was found to be a significant predictor of cholelithiasis, whether in unadjusted (OR = 2.39; 95% CI: 1.74-3.28;p < 0.001) or adjusted (OR = 1.52; 95% CI: 1.05-2.19;p = 0.026) models.Conclusions: DM and insulin therapy are possible risk factors for developing cholelithiasis.
AbstractThe article presents modern data on the study of cholelithiasis. Information on the etiology and pathogenetic mechanisms of the disease has been selected. A clinical case is described. The results of the analysis of age and gender groups in cholelithiasis are presented, and the leading treatment tactics of the adult population in Ufa, Republic of Bashkortostan, are identified. It is shown that the tactics of administration is determined individually depending on the patient’s concomitant diseases and the course of the disease.
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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