DeCure's autonomous Rare AI scientist is researching a drug-repurposing hypothesis for heroin dependence — screening already-approved drugs against its 10-gene Open Targets disease module to publish open-access research. Research is fast; the path to publication is funded in milestone stages.
Disease moduleHeroin dependence maps to a 10-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 heroin dependence 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
5-hydroxytryptamine receptor 2A (HTR2A) — HTR2A 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 dimethylaminodrag to rotate · scroll to zoom
RCSB Protein Data Bank · entry 9AS8 · 2.54 Å · ligand 3-[2-(dimethylamino)ethyl]-1~{H}-indol-4-ol (91Q). Experimental structure, not a prediction.
What the evidence adds up to
A 2015 editorial reviewing six studies from six countries on supervised injected heroin for severe and refractory heroin dependence reports significant crime reduction and overall cost-effectiveness. Despite this evidence, the editorial notes that policy makers remain reluctant to develop the treatment further.
A 2012 study of 78 hepatitis C virus seronegative heroin dependents with normal body mass index and 32 healthy controls found that heroin dependence is associated with increased insulin resistance. The group with dependence duration longer than three years had a HOMA-IR of 2.23 ± 3.15, significantly higher than the control group’s 1.23 ± 0.53 (P = 0.016), but lower than the group with dependence duration of three years or less, which had a HOMA-IR of 2.65 ± 2.66 (P = 0.024). Prolonged heroin use was associated with reduced β-cell function (P < 0.001) and decreased insulin resistance when controlled for waist circumference, but still induced significantly decreased basal insulin sensitivity.
A 2018 study of 570 Caucasian heroin-dependent individuals examined whether genetic variants in the CamK2A gene are associated with the transition time from occasional to regular heroin use. Single marker analysis of rs10066581 (P = 0.007) and haplotype analysis (global P = 0.005) suggested an association with that quantitative trait. The authors propose that CamK2A genetic variation may be involved in the transition stage to heroin dependence.
What is still missing is a clear explanation for why policy makers remain unconvinced by the existing evidence on heroin-assisted treatment, and whether the metabolic and genetic findings can be translated into any practical intervention. No trial has yet tested whether targeting insulin resistance or CamK2A variants alters the course of heroin dependence, and no patient stratification based on these markers has been attempted in a treatment study.
Evidence
Retrieved by DeepSearch across 234,678,978 indexed works and resolved on OpenAlex — ranked by citations, including the results that did not work.
New England Journal of Medicine · 2000 · 27 citations
Treating Opioid Dependence — New Data and New Opportunities
AbstractHeroin use in the United States has grown considerably over the past decade. Approximately 3 million Americans have used heroin,1 a fact that has led to increasing concern about heroin-related problems such as overdose, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, unemployment, and crime. Finding effective treatments for heroin dependence is critical. The report by Johnson et al. in this issue of the Journal 2 represents an important step toward expanding the options for treatment.Patients who are dependent on opioids may come to physicians with health problems and may request help finding treatment. The first step is careful screening to identify underlying . . .
The British Journal of Psychiatry · 2015 · 22 citations · open access
Heroin-assisted treatment: has a controversial treatment come of age?
AbstractThis editorial considers the findings of the systematic review of heroin-assisted treatment, with six different studies from six different countries, published in this issue. The meta-analysis focuses on supervised injected heroin and reports significant crime reduction and an overall cost-effectiveness of treatment. Despite this body of evidence, policy makers remain reluctant to develop this treatment further. The question remains, what else is required to convince policy makers of the value of such treatment for severe and refractory heroin dependence?
Prevalence of antisocial personality disorder among Chinese individuals receiving treatment for heroin dependence: a meta-analysis.
AbstractBACKGROUND: Studies from Western countries consistently report very high rates of comorbid Antisocial Personality Disorder (ASPD) among individuals with heroin addiction, but the reported proportion of Chinese individuals with heroin addiction who have co-morbid ASPD varies widely, possibly because Chinese clinicians do not consider personality issues when treating substance abuse problems. AIM: Conduct a meta-analysis of studies that assessed the proportion of Chinese individuals with heroin dependence who have comorbid ASPD. METHODS: We searched for relevant studies in both Chinese databases (China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wanfang Data Knowledge Service Platform, Taiwan Electronic Periodical Services) and western databases (PubMed, EMBASE, and PsycInfo). Two authors independently retrieved the literature, identified studies that met pre-defined inclusion and exclusion criteria, assessed the quality of included studies, and extracted the data used in the analysis. Statistical analysis was performed using StatsDirect 3.0 and R software. RESULTS: The search yielded 15 eligible studies with a total of 3692 individuals with heroin dependence. Only 2 of the studies were rated as high-quality studies. All studies were conducted in rehabilitation centers or hospitals. The pooled lifetime prevalence of ASPD in these subjects was 30% (95%CI: 23%-38%), but the heterogeneity of results across studies was great (I(2) =95%, p<0.001). Men had a higher prevalence than women (44% vs. 21%), and injection heroin users had higher prevalence than those who smoked heroin (44% vs. 27%). Studies that were methodologically stronger had higher reported prevalence of ASPD among heroin dependent individuals. CONCLUSIONS: There are substantial methodological problems in the available literature about ASPD in Chinese individuals receiving treatment for heroin dependence, but we estimate that about one-third of them meet criteria for ASPD. Further work is needed to increase clinicians' awareness of this issue; to compare the pathogenesis, treatment responsiveness and recidivism of those with and without ASPD; and to develop and test targeted interventions for this difficult-to-treat subgroup of individuals with heroin dependence.
Journal of Addiction Medicine · 2012 · 12 citations · open access
Heroin Dependence Duration Influences the Metabolic Parameters
AbstractOBJECTIVE: Carbohydrate metabolism disorder in heroin dependence is an issue with long history and contradicting results. The aim of the study was to evaluate basal insulin sensitivity in hepatitis C virus seronegative heroin dependents with normal body mass index, taking into consideration the duration of heroin dependence. METHOD: 78 heroin dependents and 32 healthy controls were enrolled in the cross-sectional, prospective study. The dependents were observed in 2 groups: group 1 with dependence duration less than or equal to 3 years and group 2 with more than 3 years. Homeostasis Model Assessment for Insulin Resistance (HOMA-IR) and β-cell function (HOMA-B%) were used to define basal glucose-insulin homeostasis. RESULTS: The group with longer dependence duration had HOMA-IR (2.23 ± 3.15) significantly higher compared with the control group (1.23 ± 0.53, P = 0.016) but lower compared with the group with the shorter dependence duration (2.65 ± 2.66, P = 0.024), after adjustment for HOMA-B%, waist circumference, and aspartate aminotransferase. The decrease in HOMA-IR during prolonged heroin addiction was significantly associated with the reduced β-cell function (P < 0.001) and waist circumference (P = 0.004). CONCLUSIONS: Heroin dependence is associated with increased insulin resistance in hepatitis C virus seronegative heroin dependents. Prolonged heroin use is associated with reduction of basal β-cell pancreatic function with decreased insulin resistance controlled for waist circumference, but still inducing significantly decreased basal insulin sensitivity.
Psychiatric Genetics · 2018 · 4 citations · open access
Association of CamK2A genetic variants with transition time from occasional to regular heroin use in a sample of heroin-dependent individuals
AbstractOBJECTIVES: Susceptibility to heroin dependence is strongly influenced by genetic factors with heritability estimates as high as 0.7. A number of genes, as well as environmental factors, are likely to contribute to its etiology. Not all individuals who have ever tried heroin at some stage during their lifetime become dependent on heroin. It has been suggested that genetic factors might be more important in the transition stage to heroin dependence rather than in environmental exposures and experimenting with heroin. As the features of substance dependence and memory formation have been found to be strikingly similar, we have focused on a key enzyme involved in long-term potentiation and synaptic plasticity, namely the calcium-dependent/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase IIα (CAMKIIa). We hypothesized, that CamK2A genetic variation may play a role in the transition from occasional to regular heroin use. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Using quantitative trait association analysis, we addressed this hypothesis by correlating the self-reported time interval between occasional and regular heroin use with the frequency of 12 single nucleotide polymorphisms located within the genomic region of the CamK2A gene. A sample of 570 Caucasian patients was available for analysis. RESULTS: Single marker association analysis (rs10066581, P=0.007), as well as haplotype analysis (global P=0.005), suggested an association with the quantitative trait 'time interval from occasional to regular heroin use.' CONCLUSION: Our results propose that genetic variants located in the genomic region of the CamK2A gene may be involved in transition time from occasional to regular heroin use.
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.
