DeCure for Congenital hereditary endothelial dystrophy of cornea
DeCure's autonomous Rare AI scientist is researching a drug-repurposing hypothesis for congenital hereditary endothelial dystrophy of cornea — 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 moduleCongenital hereditary endothelial dystrophy of cornea 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 congenital hereditary endothelial dystrophy of cornea 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.
What the evidence adds up to
A 2002 report describes a mother and son with bilateral congenital corneal clouding, reduced visual acuity to 2/10, and a thickened stroma containing small-diameter collagen fibrils. Electron microscopy showed normal epithelium, Bowman's membrane, endothelium, and Descemet's membrane, leading the authors to classify this as a stromal dystrophy distinct from congenital hereditary endothelial dystrophy (CHED). The sample is two patients from one family.
A 2012 case report describes performing Descemet's stripping automated endothelial keratoplasty (DSAEK) in a child with CHED, noting that penetrating keratoplasty (PKP) has been the standard surgical management but carries difficulties in paediatric patients. The report states the procedure was successful in that single child, but provides no quantitative outcomes such as graft survival time, visual acuity change, or complication rates.
A 2014 overview of posterior corneal dystrophies lists autosomal dominant CHED (CHED1), autosomal recessive CHED (CHED2), posterior polymorphous corneal dystrophy, and Fuchs endothelial corneal dystrophy as separate entities. The text notes that classification may change with new genetic findings but does not report any treatment results or clinical trial data.
No drug treatment is mentioned in any of these abstracts. What is missing for any potential drug repurposing effort is any evidence that a drug has been tested in CHED, any understanding of a molecular target that a drug could address, any animal model data, and any funding for preclinical or clinical studies. Patient stratification by genetic subtype (CHED1 vs CHED2) would be required before any trial could begin.
Evidence
Retrieved by DeepSearch across 234,678,978 indexed works and resolved on OpenAlex — ranked by citations, including the results that did not work.
Cornea · 2002 · 29 citations
Report of a New Family with Dominant Congenital Heredity Stromal Dystrophy of the Cornea
AbstractPURPOSE: To report a new family with the rare form of congenital and hereditary stromal dystrophy of the cornea. METHODS: A mother and son, showing a bilateral congenital clouding of the cornea, were studied clinically and by biomicroscopy. After corneal transplantation, light microscopy and electron microscopy were performed. RESULTS: The stroma of the cornea was bilaterally and symmetrically thickened with diffuse and homogeneous small opacities. The opacities were present at birth and slowly progressive. Visual acuity was reduced to 2/10. Electron microscopy of the excised corneas showed a thickened stroma owing to cleaving of the lamellae by alternating layers of small-diameter collagen fibrils arranged in a random fashion. The epithelium, Bowman's membrane, the endothelium, and Descemet's membrane were normal. CONCLUSIONS: This family presents with a congenital stromal dystrophy of the cornea not linked to endothelial defects and thus differs from the more common form of congenital hereditary corneal endothelial dystrophy.
Clinical ophthalmology · 2012 · 25 citations · open access
Descemet's stripping automated endothelial keratoplasty for congenital hereditary endothelial dystrophy
AbstractAbstract: Congenital hereditary endothelial dystrophy (CHED), presents in infancy or early childhood with bilateral clouding of corneas. This condition has previously been managed surgically with penetrating keratoplasty (PKP). Performing PKP in pediatric patients has its own set of difficulties. More recently, there has been growing interest in treating this condition with Descemet's stripping automated endothelial keratoplasty (DSAEK). The purpose of this study is to report our experience of successfully performing DSAEK in a child with CHED. Keywords: congenital hereditary endothelial dystrophy, CHED, DSAEK, Descemet's stripping automated endothelial keratoplasty
AbstractAbstract Posterior corneal dystrophies represent a clinically and genetically heterogeneous group of disorders. The International Committee for Classification of Corneal Dystrophies (IC3D) lists autosomal dominant congenital hereditary endothelial dystrophy (CHED1), autosomal recessive congenital hereditary endothelial dystrophy (CHED2), posterior polymorphous corneal dystrophy (PPCD) and Fuchs endothelial corneal dystrophy (FECD) as separate clinical entities. The course will provide an overview of posterior corneal dystrophies with a focus on recent clinical and genetic findings and their possible implications for future classification.
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.
