DeCure's autonomous Rare AI scientist is researching a drug-repurposing hypothesis for epiglottitis — 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 moduleEpiglottitis 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 epiglottitis 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
neurexin 1 (NRXN1) — NRXN1 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 3B3Q · 2.4 Å · ligand none (apo structure). Experimental structure, not a prediction.
What the evidence adds up to
In a series of 129 adults with laryngoscopically confirmed acute epiglottitis admitted between 1986 and 1991, the mean age was 47 years and the male-to-female ratio was 1.8 to 1.0. The most common symptoms were sore throat (95%) and odynophagia (94%). Nineteen patients (15%) received airway intervention — seven tracheotomies and twelve endotracheal intubations — while 110 recovered without it. Factors associated with needing an airway were stridor (relative risk 6.2) and sitting erect (relative risk 4.8). Six of 52 blood cultures grew Haemophilus influenzae type b. Major complications occurred in 5% of patients, and there were no deaths. The authors concluded that most adults can be managed conservatively with low morbidity and mortality.
A separate review of 80 patients admitted between 1995 and 1999 reported a fatality rate of 1.3% and a hospital stay that was markedly longer than in other reports. No patient was younger than 16 years, and no sexual predominance was found. A smaller report from 1985 described three cases of fulminating epiglottitis in previously healthy young adults; two were fatal, both within 24 hours of definitive symptoms. That paper stressed the seriousness of the condition and proposed a management protocol.
No drug treatment is mentioned in any of these abstracts. The 1994 series documents that most patients recovered without airway intervention, but the 1985 cases show that rapid deterioration and death can still occur. The 2001 review confirms a low but non-zero fatality rate and notes prolonged hospitalisation.
What is missing is any randomised trial of medical therapy — no antibiotics, corticosteroids, or other drugs are tested here. There is no data on which patients might benefit from specific drug regimens, and no stratification by microbiology beyond the H. influenzae type b findings. The evidence remains limited to observational series with small numbers, and no funding or trial design has been proposed to address these gaps.
Evidence
Retrieved by DeepSearch across 234,678,978 indexed works and resolved on OpenAlex — ranked by citations, including the results that did not work.
JAMA · 1994 · 171 citations
Acute Epiglottitis in Adults
AbstractOBJECTIVE: To characterize the clinical features of acute epiglottitis in adults and to identify factors associated with airway intervention. DESIGN: Case series. SETTING: Northern California health maintenance organization. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 129 patients aged 18 years or older with laryngoscopically confirmed acute epiglottitis admitted from November 1986 through October 1991. RESULTS: The mean patient age was 47 years (range, 18 to 85 years) and the male-to-female ratio was 1.8 to 1.0 (P < .001). The most common symptoms were sore throat (95%) and odynophagia (94%); the most common signs were muffled voice and evidence of pharyngitis. Nineteen patients (15%) received airway intervention, including seven with tracheotomy and 12 with endotracheal intubation. The remaining 110 patients recovered fully without airway intervention. In multivariate analysis, factors associated with airway intervention were stridor (relative risk [RR], 6.2; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.7 to 22.9) and sitting erect (RR, 4.8; 95% CI, 1.3 to 16.1). Six (12%) of 52 blood cultures yielded Haemophilus influenzae type b. Major complications occurred in six patients (5%), but no deaths occurred. CONCLUSION: Most adults who have acute epiglottitis can be managed conservatively and have low morbidity and mortality.
The Journal of Laryngology & Otology · 2001 · 38 citations
Acute epiglottitis: a review of 80 patients
AbstractWe reviewed 80 patients admitted to our hospital who were diagnosed with acute epiglottitis between January 1995 and March 1999, and their clinical features, evolution and treatments were analysed. No sexual predominance was found, and there was no patient younger than 16 years of age. The patient fatality rate was 1.3 per cent, and the hospitalization period was markedly longer than those of other reports.
AbstractThree cases of epiglottitis in previously healthy young adults are reported. Two of these were fatal and occurred within nine months of each other. Both patients died within 24 hours of the development of definitive symptoms. The seriousness of this condition is stressed: a management protocol is suggested, based on our experience and the literature is reviewed.
Pliegos de Yuste: revista de cultura y pensamiento europeos · 2006 · 0 citations
European language predicament
AbstractWe reviewed 80 patients admitted to our hospital who were diagnosed with acute epiglottitis between January 1995 and March 1999, and their clinical features, evolution and treatments were analysed. No sexual predominance was found, and there was no patient younger than 16 years of age. The patient fatality rate was 1.3 per cent, and the hospitalization period was markedly longer than those of other reports.
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.
