DeCure's autonomous Rare AI scientist is researching a drug-repurposing hypothesis for familial Mediterranean fever — screening already-approved drugs against its 18-gene Open Targets disease module to publish open-access research. Research is fast; the path to publication is funded in milestone stages.
Disease moduleFamilial Mediterranean fever maps to a 18-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 familial mediterranean fever 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
interleukin 1 beta (IL1B) — IL1B 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 2sdrag to rotate · scroll to zoom
RCSB Protein Data Bank · entry 5R8Q · 1.23 Å · ligand 1-methyl-N-{[(2S)-oxolan-2-yl]methyl}-1H-pyrazole-3-carboxamide (JGY). Experimental structure, not a prediction.
What the evidence adds up to
A 1990 case report describes a 54-year-old man whose familial Mediterranean fever presented solely as persistent fever for ten years, with negative laboratory and roentgenographic findings. An earlier 1980 report from Australia notes the first known case of FMF in that country and emphasises the diagnostic difficulties and the need for clear criteria. Neither abstract reports any treatment or drug.
A 2015 Eurofever Delphi Survey of 124 experts (107 responded, 88 completed) found no consensus on how to combine clinical criteria with molecular analysis for classifying inherited periodic fevers. For FMF, the five most cited clinical variables were recurrent fever (80% of experts), abdominal pain (67%), arthritis (53%), thoracic pain (47%), and arthralgia (36%). A confirmatory genetic test was considered a relevant element for diagnosis of FMF, as was response to treatment. The survey noted wide heterogeneity in expert responses.
No drug, no treatment outcome, no survival or response rate data appear in any of these abstracts. What is missing is any controlled trial of a drug for FMF, any data on patient stratification by genotype or symptom pattern, and any funding for such a trial. The diagnostic criteria themselves remain unsettled.
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 Internal Medicine · 1990 · 9 citations
Persistent Fever as the Only Symptom of Familial Mediterranean Fever
AbstractWe describe a 54-year-old man who suffered from familial Mediterranean fever, but the fever has been the only symptom during a 10-year period. During this period, results of laboratory tests and roentgenographic studies were negative. On the basis of these findings we propose that familial Mediterranean fever can be included in the causes of persistent fever in patients with long periods of fever.
The Medical Journal of Australia · 1980 · 4 citations
FAMILIAL MEDITERRANEAN FEVER IN AUSTRALIA
AbstractA case of familial Mediterranean fever is presented, which is, as far as it could be ascertained, the first reported case of this condition in Australia. The difficulties encountered in making this diagnosis are discussed along with diagnostic criteria necessary to substantiate a diagnosis of familial Mediterranean fever. The importance of this condition both to physicians and to surgeons is emphasized.
Pediatric Rheumatology · 2015 · 0 citations · open access
How experts on autoinflammatory diseases classify inherited periodic fevers: preliminary results of the Eurofever Delphi Survey
AbstractProvisional evidence-based classification criteria for Familial Mediterranean Fever (FMF), Cryopyrin Associated Periodic Syndrome (CAPS), Tumor Necrosis factor Receptor Associated Periodic Syndrome (TRAPS) and Mevalonate Kinase Deficiency (MKD) have been recently developed based on data coming from the Eurofever registry. However, no consensus on how to combine clinical criteria with results of molecular analysis has been reached so far. To understand how physicians involved in the clinical care of patients with Autoinflammatory diseases (AIDs) classify patients with inherited periodic fever in daily practice. By using the Delphi and Nominal Group Technique, we started a process made of three consecutive e-mail surveys. In the first survey, clinicians/biologists and other health professionals working in the field of autoinflammation were asked to identify the variables that they consider as important, in their clinical practice, for the diagnosis of patients with inherited periodic fever. This survey was open not to influence the experts. We sent the first survey to 124 experts. The overall rate of response was 107 (86%): 101 experts responded to be interested in the survey and 88 completed and confirmed it for at least one disease; 6 experts responded not to be interested. No clinical variable was chosen by all the experts for any disease the five most cited clinical variables for FMF were recurrent fever (80% of experts), abdominal pain (67%), arthritis (53%), thoracic pain (47%) and arthralgia (36%). The five most cited clinical variables for CAPS were fever (75%), urticarial rash (71%), hearing loss (49%), ocular involvement (40%) and arthralgia (35%). The five most cited clinical variables for TRAPS were long lasting fever (92%), rash (84%), periorbital edema (59%), myalgia/myositis (57%), and abdominal pain (55%) while the five most cited clinical variables for MKD were abdominal pain (61%), fever (59%), skin rash (41%), diarrhea (43%) and arthralgia (39%). A confirmatory genetic test resulted a relevant element for the diagnosis of FMF, TRAPS, CAPS and MKD while the response to treatment for FMF and CAPS. The preliminary results of the first Eurofever Delphi Survey show a high rate of response by Expert, underlying the interest of the scientific community in this topic. A wide heterogeneity in their response was observed. At the end of the Delphi process, we will obtain different set of clinical criteria whose performance will be tested in comparison to already existing criteria in a cohort of patients affected by AIDs. The final step will be a Consensus among experts (geneticists and clinicians) in order to define the best combination of clinical and genetic data for the definitive classification of patients with inherited periodic fevers.
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.
