DeCure's autonomous Rare AI scientist is researching a drug-repurposing hypothesis for cone-rod dystrophy 13 — 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 moduleCone-rod dystrophy 13 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
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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 cone-rod dystrophy 13 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
RPGR interacting protein 1 (RPGRIP1) — RPGRIP1 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 4QAM · 1.83 Å · ligand none (apo structure). Experimental structure, not a prediction.
What the evidence adds up to
A 1993 prospective study of 33 patients from 25 families with cone-rod dystrophy, plus retrospective review of 150 additional patients, identified four functional subtypes based on electroretinography and visual field patterns. Type 1 showed greater cone than rod amplitude reduction; type 2 showed equal cone and rod reduction. Subtypes 1a, 1b, 2a, and 2b were distinguished by scotoma location and regional threshold elevations. Of 95 retrospectively reviewed patients with sufficient data, all but two fit one of these four subtypes. A 1995 study of a four-generation pedigree with autosomal dominant cone-rod dystrophy linked to chromosome 19q examined 34 affected and 22 unaffected members. Loss of visual acuity began in the first decade, night blindness after age 20, and little function remained after age 50. Psychophysical and electrophysiologic testing before age 26 showed more marked cone than rod loss. The authors concluded that this phenotype did not fit well into the earlier subtypes.
A 1996 report on two Japanese families with autosomal dominant cone-rod dystrophy found mutations in codon 244 (Asn244His) and codon 184 (Tyr184Ser) of the peripherin/RDS gene. Four affected members showed decreased visual acuity, macular degeneration, central or paracentral scotoma, cone electroretinographic responses more impaired than rod responses, and midperipheral pigmentary degeneration in late stages. The authors classified this as cone-rod dystrophy type 2a by the 1993 system. A 2024 case report described the second confirmed case of rod-cone dystrophy associated with a GNB1 mutation (c.217G>C, p.Ala73Pro) in a 56-year-old patient who also had mild intellectual disability, attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, and truncal obesity. The authors recommended including GNB1 in genetic testing panels for inherited retinal diseases.
One abstract from 1989 concerns Duchenne and Becker muscular dystrophy and is not relevant to cone-rod dystrophy. No treatment or intervention is described in any of the cone-rod dystrophy abstracts. No drug is mentioned. The natural history data come from small, mostly single-family or single-centre studies, and the classification system from 1993 has not been prospectively validated in genetically defined cohorts. What remains missing is large-scale, genetically stratified natural history studies, standardised outcome measures for clinical trials, and any funded therapeutic development programme for cone-rod dystrophy 13 specifically.
Evidence
Retrieved by DeepSearch across 234,678,978 indexed works and resolved on OpenAlex — ranked by citations, including the results that did not work.
Archives of Ophthalmology · 1993 · 87 citations
Clinical Subtypes of Cone-Rod Dystrophy
AbstractOBJECTIVE: To determine possible distinct phenotypic subtypes of cone-rod dystrophy. PATIENTS: Thirty-three patients with cone-rod dystrophy (from 25 families) were assessed prospectively on electroretinography, visual field testing, psychophysical threshold profiles, and fundus features. The clinical records of an additional 150 patients with cone-rod dystrophy were examined retrospectively in terms of the classification schema derived from the prospective study. RESULTS: Based on electroretinographic recordings, two major types of cone-rod dystrophy were differentiated. In type 1, cone amplitudes were reduced to a greater degree than were rod amplitudes on electroretinography, while in type 2, cone and rod electroretinographic amplitudes were reduced in equal proportion. These two types were further subdivided on the basis of patterns of visual field loss and threshold elevation. In type 1a, there was a central or paracentral scotoma, and cone thresholds were more elevated centrally than peripherally. In type 1b, there was no central scotoma, and cone thresholds were more elevated peripherally than centrally. In type 2a, there was a central scotoma, cone thresholds were more elevated centrally than peripherally, and rod thresholds were more elevated peripherally than centrally. In type 2b, a partial or complete ring scotoma was present, cone thresholds were more elevated peripherally than centrally, and rod thresholds were more elevated in the midperipheral than in either the central or far peripheral region of the retina. Of the 150 additional patients with cone-rod dystrophy, data sufficient for classification were available for 95 patients, and all but two had findings that were consistent with classification into one of these four subtypes. CONCLUSION: Our results identify four functionally distinct subtypes of cone-rod dystrophy that may be useful for patient counseling and future molecular genetic studies.
British Journal of Ophthalmology · 2005 · 70 citations · open access
A detailed phenotypic study of "cone dystrophy with supernormal rod ERG"
AbstractAIMS: To characterise the detailed phenotype of "cone dystrophy with supernormal rod ERG" in a case series of 10 patients. METHODS: 10 affected patients were examined clinically and underwent colour fundus photography, with nine undergoing detailed electrophysiological testing. Five patients were assessed further with fundus autofluorescence (AF) imaging, automated photopic and dark adapted perimetry, and dark adaptometry. Detailed colour vision assessment was performed in six subjects. Blood samples were taken from four patients for DNA extraction and mutation screening of NR2E3 was undertaken. RESULTS: The onset of symptoms was in the first and second decades of life. Subjects presented with reduced central vision and marked photophobia. All individuals were myopic and colour vision testing revealed severely reduced colour discrimination predominantly along the red-green axes; tritan colour vision was relatively well preserved. Nyctalopia is a later feature of the disorder. Funduscopy and AF imaging revealed a range of macular appearances. There was electrophysiological evidence of marked macular dysfunction, reduced and delayed cone responses, and supernormal and delayed rod responses. Photopic and dark adapted perimetry revealed central scotomata with widespread peripheral sensitivity loss. No disease causing sequence variants in NR2E3 were identified. CONCLUSIONS: The largest case series to date has been described of the clinical, psychophysical and electrophysiological characteristics of this unusual cone dystrophy with supernormal rod responses. Electrophysiological data were consistent with a post-phototransduction, but pre-inner nuclear layer, site of dysfunction. While the definitive diagnosis can only be made with electrophysiological testing, several characteristics that may increase suspicion of this diagnosis are presented.
Autosomal Dominant Cone-Rod Dystrophy Associated With Mutations in Codon 244 (Asn244His) and Codon 184 (Tyr184Ser) of the Peripherin/RDS Gene
AbstractOBJECTIVE: To characterize clinical findings associated with mutations in codon 244 (Asn244His) and codon 184 (Tyr184Ser) of the peripherin/RDS gene. DESIGN: Case reports with clinical features and results of fluorescein angiography, electroretinography, kinetic visual field testing, and DNA analysis. SETTING: University medical center. PATIENTS: Four affected members of two Japanese families with autosomal dominant cone-rod dystrophy associated with transversion mutations in codon 244 (Asn244His) and codon (Tyr184Ser) of the peripherin/RDS gene. RESULTS: Characteristic features included the initial symptoms of decreased visual acuity, macular degeneration, central or paracentral scotoma, cone-mediated electroretinographic responses that were more impaired than rod-mediated responses, and pigmentary degeneration in the midperipheral retina in the late stage. These phenotypic features corresponded to cone-rod dystrophy type 2a by the classification of Szlyk and associates. CONCLUSIONS: The Asn244His and Tyr184Ser mutations in the peripherin/RDS gene cause con-rod dystrophy type 2a. These findings imply that a mutation in codon 244 or codon 184 of the peripherin/RDS gene affects the functions and/or structural stability of cones and rods.
AbstractOBJECTIVE: To describe the phenotype in a family with dominantly inherited cone-rod dystrophy with chromosome assignment to a 19q locus, and to correlate this with current classifications of this retinal dystrophy. DESIGN: A detailed clinical examination including Goldmann perimetry was undertaken in all family members. Six members under the age of 30 years underwent dark-adapted electroretinography, color contrast-sensitivity measurement, dark-adapted static perimetry, and dark adaptometry. PATIENTS: The study included 34 affected and 22 unaffected patients in four generations of a pedigree that manifested autosomal dominant cone-rod retinal dystrophy linked to a chromosome 19q locus by genetic linkage analysis. RESULTS: Loss of visual acuity occurred in the first decade of life, onset of night blindness occurred after 20 years of age, and little visual function remained after the age of 50 years. Central and, later, peripheral retinal fundus changes were associated with central scotoma, pseudoaltitudinal field defects, and finally global loss of function. Psychophysical and electrophysiologic testing before the age of 26 years showed more marked loss of cone than rod function. CONCLUSIONS: The phenotype associated with this mutation does not fit well into previous subtypes of cone-rod dystrophy. Further studies will be needed to correlate specific genetic mutations in this group of conditions with the various clinical phenotypes.
AbstractThe clinical progression and effects of therapy in 283 boys with Duchenne dystrophy and ten with Becker dystrophy followed for up to ten years in a collaborative study are reported from the Departments of Neurology and Biostatistics, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, the Departments of Neurology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio and University of Rochester, Rochester, New York.
Case Reports in Ophthalmology · 2024 · 1 citations · open access
GNB1-Related Rod-Cone Dystrophy: A Case Report
Abstract<b><i>Introduction:</i></b> The <i>GNB1</i> (guanine nucleotide-binding protein, β1) gene encodes for the ubiquitous β1 subunit of heterotrimeric G proteins, which are associated with G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs). <i>GNB1</i> mutations cause a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by a broad clinical spectrum. A novel variant has recently been confirmed in a case of rod-cone dystrophy. <b><i>Case Presentation:</i></b> We describe the second confirmed case of a classical rod-cone dystrophy associated with a mutation located in exon 6 of <i>GNB1</i> [NM_002074.5:c.217G&gt;C, p.(Ala73Pro)] in a 56-year-old patient also presenting mild intellectual disability, attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, and truncal obesity. <b><i>Conclusion:</i></b> This paper confirms the role of <i>GNB1</i> in the pathogenesis of a classic rod-cone dystrophy and highlights the importance of including this gene in the genetic analysis panel for inherited retinal diseases.
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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