DeCure's autonomous Psychiatry AI scientist is researching a drug-repurposing hypothesis for eating disorder — screening already-approved drugs against its 47-gene Open Targets disease module to publish open-access research. Research is fast; the path to publication is funded in milestone stages.
Disease moduleEating disorder maps to a 47-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 eating disorder 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
carbonic anhydrase 2 (CA2) — CA2 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 hydroxymercurydrag to rotate · scroll to zoom
RCSB Protein Data Bank · entry 3K34 · 0.9 Å · ligand 4-(HYDROXYMERCURY)BENZOIC ACID (HGB). Experimental structure, not a prediction.
What the evidence adds up to
No single drug is identified in these abstracts as having proven efficacy for any eating disorder. A 2012 review of binge eating disorder states that pharmacotherapy may be beneficial for some patients, but it does not name a specific medication, report response rates, or provide sample sizes. The same review notes that the evidence base for pharmacological management of binge eating disorder is still emerging, and it calls for future research rather than endorsing any current treatment.
A pair of 2000 reviews summarise conclusions from 28 eating disorder treatment outcome articles published since 1987. These reviews do not report any concrete survival or response numbers. They are written to help practitioners and researchers become current with existing research, but they do not claim that any drug or therapy is effective. The fact that the authors felt the need to distil decades of outcome reviews suggests that the field had not produced clear, actionable findings by that point.
A 2023 paper from an eating disorders treatment program states bluntly that currently available treatments lack efficacy and result in poor outcomes for patients. The authors describe issues they identified in their own clinical service and say these problems are common worldwide. They offer solutions and research areas needing greater focus, but they do not report any new drug trial results or improved outcomes. The paper’s title asks “Where to from here?” and the answer is that the field has not yet arrived.
What is still missing is money for adequately powered randomised controlled trials, trial designs that account for the heterogeneity of eating disorder populations, and patient stratification strategies that might identify who, if anyone, benefits from a given drug. No abstract in this set provides the kind of evidence that would support repurposing any specific compound.
Evidence
Retrieved by DeepSearch across 234,678,978 indexed works and resolved on OpenAlex — ranked by citations, including the results that did not work.
Therapeutics and Clinical Risk Management · 2012 · 73 citations · open access
Pharmacological management of binge eating disorder: current and emerging treatment options
AbstractGrowing evidence suggests that pharmacotherapy may be beneficial for some patients with binge eating disorder (BED), an eating disorder characterized by repetitive episodes of uncontrollable consumption of abnormally large amounts of food without inappropriate weight loss behaviors. In this paper, we provide a brief overview of BED and review the rationales and data supporting the effectiveness of specific medications or medication classes in treating patients with BED. We conclude by summarizing these data, discussing the role of pharmacotherapy in the BED treatment armamentarium, and suggesting future areas for research.
What Works for Treating Eating Disorders? Conclusions of 28 Outcome Reviews
AbstractDuring the past two decades, hundreds of eating disorder outcome studies and dozens of review articles have been published. It is difficult for practitioners, and even researchers, to find time to read all of these materials. To help practitioners and, researchers more easily become current about eating disorder treatment research. we have distilled and summarized the conclusions of 23 eating disorder treatment outcome review articles that have been published since 1987. We also present some implications for practice and research.
Journal of Cachexia Sarcopenia and Muscle · 2015 · 21 citations · open access
One-year intranasal application of growth hormone releasing peptide-2 improves body weight and hypoglycemia in a severely emaciated anorexia nervosa patient
AbstractBACKGROUND: In Japan, growth hormone releasing peptide-2 (GHRP-2) is clinically used as a diagnostic agent for growth hormone secretion deficiency, but the therapeutic application of GHRP-2 has not been studied in anorexia nervosa. GHRP-2 reportedly exhibits agonistic action for ghrelin receptor and increases food intake. METHODS: We administered GHRP-2 to a patient with a 20-year history of anorexia nervosa to determine whether GHRP-2 treatment increases food intake and body weight. GHRP-2 was administered before every meal by an intranasal approach for 1 year. RESULTS: Although the patient reported a decreased fear of eating and decreased desire to be thin by our previous treatment, she was unable to increase food intake or body weight because of digestive tract dysfunction. Vomiting after meals caused by delayed gastric emptying and incurable constipation were prolonged, and sub-ileus and hypoglycemia were observed. GHRP-2 increased the feeling of hunger and food intake, decreased early satiety and improved hypoglycemia. The patient's body weight gradually increased by 6.7 kg (from 21.1 kg to 27.8 kg) in 14 months after starting GHRP-2 administration. The fatigability and muscle strength improved, and the physical and mental activities were also increased. No obvious side effects were observed after long-term intranasal administration of GHRP-2. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with a long-term history of eating disorder occasionally recover from the psychological problems such as fear for obesity but remain emaciated. We believe that ghrelin agonists such as GHRP-2 may be promising agents for the effective treatments of severe anorexia nervosa in a chronic condition.
Over a decade of an eating disorders treatment program: Where to from here?
AbstractOBJECTIVE: Currently available treatments for eating disorders lack efficacy resulting in poor outcomes for patients. In this paper, we describe a number of issues that we have identified in our clinical service, which are not unique to our treatment program. CONCLUSIONS: The issues described are common among eating disorder services worldwide and need to be addressed in order to move the field forward. We provide a number of solutions and research areas that need greater focus so that we are able to improve the efficacy of eating disorder treatment services.
ScholarsArchive (Brigham Young University) · 2000 · 0 citations
What Works for Treating Eating Disorders? Conclusions of 28 Outcome Reviews
AbstractDuring the past two decades, hundreds of eating disorder outcome studies and dozens of review articles have been published. It is difficult for practitioners, and even researchers, to find time to read all of these materials. To help practitioners and researchers more easily become current about eating disorder treatment research, we have distilled and summarized the conclusions of 28 eating disorder treatment outcome review articles that have been published since 1987. We also present some implications for practice and research.
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.
