DeCure's autonomous Rare AI scientist is researching a drug-repurposing hypothesis for developmental dysplasia of the hip — screening already-approved drugs against its 11-gene Open Targets disease module to publish open-access research. Research is fast; the path to publication is funded in milestone stages.
Disease moduleDevelopmental dysplasia of the hip maps to a 11-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 developmental dysplasia of the hip 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
collagen type II alpha 1 chain (COL2A1) — COL2A1 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 p33drag to rotate · scroll to zoom
RCSB Protein Data Bank · entry 5NIR · 1.74 Å · ligand 3,6,9,12,15,18-HEXAOXAICOSANE-1,20-DIOL (P33). Experimental structure, not a prediction.
What the evidence adds up to
Developmental dysplasia of the infant hip (DDH) describes a spectrum of disordered hip development including dislocation, subluxation, and dysplasia that can begin prenatally or postnatally. In 98% of cases the morphological alteration starts in the last four weeks of pregnancy or immediately after birth in a previously normal hip; the remaining 2% develop DDH during the first months of life. Genetic factors account for about 67.88% of incidence, with environmental factors making up the rest, but no clear conclusion on genetic aetiology has been reached. A 2022 review of 26 articles published over three decades found that existing definitions of DDH lack uniformity, and proposed that DDH be defined as a developmental spectrum of abnormal formation and alignment of hip joint components that present in healthy infants.
A 2021 paper argues that confusion between dysplasia and deformity is the greatest challenge in hip development disorders, often leading to misdiagnosis and incorrect treatment. The authors describe four pathomechanisms — dysplasia, malformation, disruption, and deformity — and note the existence of clinically and diagnostically mute cases. They suggest augmenting diagnostic procedures with genetic tests to increase screening sensitivity and propose a new division of developmental hip disorders based on these pathomechanisms.
A 2024 cross-sectional observational study in Turkey screened 256 infants (mean age 2.51 months, 55.1% girls) for DDH using the Graf ultrasound method and measured second and fourth finger lengths. Eighteen babies (7%) had unilateral or bilateral DDH: 2.7% right, 2.3% left, 2% bilateral. There was no statistically significant correlation between right 2D/4D finger length ratio and right hip alpha angle. A statistically significant positive correlation was found between left 2D/4D finger length ratio and left hip alpha angle, leading the authors to conclude that left-hand 2D/4D finger length may be of value in screening for DDH.
What remains missing is a uniform, clinically feasible definition that is consistently applied across studies, a clear genetic aetiology, and prospective validation of the left-hand finger-length ratio as a screening tool in larger, more diverse populations. No drug was mentioned in any of these abstracts.
Evidence
Retrieved by DeepSearch across 234,678,978 indexed works and resolved on OpenAlex — ranked by citations, including the results that did not work.
AbstractDevelopmental dysplasia of the infant hip (DDH) encompasses all the variants of disordered hip development in infants, including dislocation, subluxation, and dysplasia, whether they occur prenatally (congenitally) or postnatally. This term describes the pathogenesis of hip dysplasia in the infant, emphasizes the dynamic interaction of pathologic features that underlie the clinical abnormality, and encompasses the spectrum of joint instability and alteration in morphology. In 98% of cases, the alteration in morphology begins in the last 4 weeks of pregnancy or in the immediate postnatal period in a previously normal hip. The other 2% develop developmental dysplasia of the hip during the first months of life after birth.
[Progress in researches on the molecular genetics of developmental dysplasia of the hip].
AbstractEpidemiological studies have confirmed that genetic factors play an important role in the incidence of developmental dysplasia of the hip (DDH). Previous studies showed that genetic factors accounted for a major part (about 67.88%), the remaining part was due to the environmental factors. At present, great progress has been made in the researches of the diagnosis and treatment of DDH, but there is no clear conclusion in the genetic etiology. This article reviews the latest studies of candidate genes and their mapping.
Mustansiriya Medical Journal · 2022 · 0 citations · open access
Definition of Developmental Dysplasia of the Hip
AbstractExisting definitions of developmental dysplasia of the hip (DDH) lack uniformity. This study reviewed the main articles discussing DDH definition to make a uniform, feasible, and clinically relevant definition. Electronic databases with some orthopedic books were used to search for the relevant articles. The articles included were 26 (13 from journals and 13 from books). They were published in the last three decades, in the English language, and related to the human species. The retrieved descriptive data used to define DDH were summarized and sorted according to the concepts they contained (they were 12 concepts). Most of them gave more than one set of data to define DDH. From the summary of these data, it can be concluded that DDH can be defined as a developmental spectrum of abnormal formation and alignment of hip joint components that present in healthy infants.
Dysplasia, malformation, or deformity? - explanation of the basis of hip development disorders and suggestions for future diagnostics and treatment
Abstract<ns3:p>This publication focuses on processes that disrupt the proper development of the hip. Four pathomechanisms underlying human developmental defects are described in the literature, i.e. dysplasia, malformation, disruption, and deformity. In the case of hip development, arguably the greatest challenge involves confusion between dysplasia and deformity, which often leads to misdiagnosis, incorrect nomenclature, and incorrectly chosen treatment.</ns3:p> <ns3:p>The paper presents a description of hip joint development disorders in the context of their pathomechanisms. An attempt was made to answer the question of whether these disorders are rooted in a primary disorder of tissue growth, resulting in its incorrect anatomy, or are the result of anatomical deformation with secondary modifications in tissue structures of a degenerative or adaptive nature, based on Deplesch-Heuter-Volkmann growth and remodeling laws. In addition, the emphasis is placed on attention to the presence of the so-called clinically and diagnostically mute cases. The need to augment diagnostic procedures with genetic tests to increase the sensitivity of screening has also been suggested. Based on the arguments presented in the paper, a new division of developmental hip disorders has been proposed.</ns3:p>
Journal of College of Physicians And Surgeons Pakistan · 2024 · 0 citations · open access
2D/4D Finger Length Ratio in the Screening of Developmental Dysplasia of the Hip
AbstractOBJECTIVE: To investigate whether there is a relationship between the 2nd finger and 4th finger length measurement ratios and developmental dysplasia of the Hip (DDH). STUDY DESIGN: Cross-sectional observational study. Place and Duration of the Study: Department of Orthopaedics and Traumatology, Meram Faculty of Medicine Hospital, Konya, Turkiye, from January 2020 to May 2023. METHODOLOGY: Infants were screened for DDH with Graff method for the ultrasounds of both hips. Lengths of the 2nd and 4th fingers of both hands were measured and recorded. Patients with additional risk factors for developmental dysplasia of the hip (breech birth, family history, oligohydramnios, swaddling) were excluded. RESULTS: Two hundred and fifty-six babies were screened including 55.1% (n = 141) girls and 44.9% (n = 115) boys. Their mean age was 2.51 ± 0.80 months. The average lengths were 31.73 ± 3.05 mm, for the left 2nd finger and 34.26 ± 3.48 mm for the left 4th finger. In the hip USG measurements, the mean alpha angles were 62.91 ± 3.12° for the right hip and, 63.20 ± 3.55° for the left hip. Eighteen (7%) of babies who underwent hip ultrasound (USG) had unilateral or bilateral DDH. Among these cases, 2.7% (n = 7) had right, 2.3% (n = 6) had left, and 2% (n = 5) had bilateral DDH. There was no statistically significant correlation between the ratios of right 2/4 finger lengths and the right alpha angle (rs = 0.051; p = 0.421). There was a statistically positive and statistically significant correlation between the ratios of left 2/4 finger lengths and the left alpha angle (rs = 0.154; p = 0.013). CONCLUSION: Only the left-hand finger ratio among the parameters in the model had a statistically significant effect on DDH. Therefore, the left hand 2D/4D finger length may be of value in screening for DDH. KEY WORDS: Developmental dysplasia of the hip, Second to fourth finger digit ratio, Ring finger, Digit ratios.
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.
