DeCure's autonomous Cardio AI scientist is researching a drug-repurposing hypothesis for myocarditis — 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 moduleMyocarditis 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 myocarditis 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
desmoplakin (DSP) — DSP 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 4s,5sdrag to rotate · scroll to zoom
RCSB Protein Data Bank · entry 3R6N · 2.95 Å · ligand (4S,5S)-1,2-DITHIANE-4,5-DIOL (D1D). Experimental structure, not a prediction.
What the evidence adds up to
Myocarditis is defined as a non-ischaemic inflammatory disease of the myocardium with numerous known causes, including viral infection, infection by other agents, drug hypersensitivity, and systemic autoimmune disorders. The condition is rare, with a rate of 0.5 patient per 10,000 cases at the clinic. Core principles of treatment are optimal care of arrhythmia and heart failure and, where supported by evidence, aetiology-targeted therapy.
A nationwide database study from Poland covering 19,978 patients hospitalised with suspected myocarditis between 2011 and 2019 found that endomyocardial biopsy, the gold standard for diagnosis, was performed in less than 1% of patients. Cardiac magnetic resonance, the most sensitive non-invasive test, was performed in 16.4% of patients, though its use rose from 7.2% to 29.2% over the ten years. Echocardiography was the most frequently used imaging technique, increasing from 71.3% to 86.1% of patients. Biomarker measurement during the primary hospitalisation occurred in 13.8% for brain natriuretic peptides and 41.3% for troponins. Most diagnostic tests were less frequently performed in females.
The same database study concluded that management could be significantly improved if state-of-the-art diagnostic methods were followed according to guidelines. The authors noted that nuclear medicine procedures remained below 1% regardless of year. The abstracts provide no data on any drug treatment outcomes, survival rates, or response rates for myocarditis.
What is still missing is evidence from randomised trials testing any specific therapy for myocarditis, adequate funding for such trials, and consistent application of the gold-standard diagnostic biopsy and cardiac magnetic resonance across patient populations, particularly in women.
Evidence
Retrieved by DeepSearch across 234,678,978 indexed works and resolved on OpenAlex — ranked by citations, including the results that did not work.
Heart · 1992 · 43 citations · open access
How can myocarditis be diagnosed and should it be treated?
AbstractHow can myocarditis be diagnosed and should it be treated?Myocarditis remains an enigma.On one hand it is a diagnosis which is suspected clinically when sudden car- diac failure or arrhythmias or both follow a febrile 'flu-like illness.On the other hand, myocarditis has a defined histological appearance with evidence of myocyte damage and a lymphocytic interstitial inflammatory infiltrate.The similarity between this histological picture and acute rejection led naturally to the suggestion that immunosup- pression might be a useful treatment.'Regrettably the
Current Opinion in Cardiology · 1992 · 2 citations
Myocarditis
AbstractThe term myocarditis represents a spectrum of nonischemic inflammatory diseases of the myocardium. Both the acceptance of a morphologic myocarditis classification and the documentation by sensitive molecular techniques that cardiotropic viruses are associated with myocarditis and dilated cardiomyopathy have led to new debates regarding the pathogenic mechanisms responsible for the development of cardiac dysfunction in myocarditis. With increasing virologic and immunologic data suggesting that many cases of myocarditis and idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy are part of a spectrum of immune-mediated cardiac disease, elucidating basic immunopathogenic mechanisms of myocarditis may have significant impact on developing therapies for dilated cardiomyopathy.
AbstractMyocarditis means, literally, inflammation of the myocardium. There are numerous known causes including viral infection, infection by other agents (bacteria, fungi, protozoa and metazoa), hypersensitivity to drugs and chemicals, and systemic autoimmune disorders. Other forms of myocarditis have poorly defined etiologies, such as giant-cell myocarditis and peripartum myocarditis.
Cardiology Journal · 2025 · 0 citations · open access
Diagnostic trends in patients hospitalized with suspected myocarditis: 10-year data from the nationwide MYO-PL database
AbstractBACKGROUND: Myocarditis poses a great diagnostic challenge to clinicians, as the most sensitive diagnostic tools are not easily accessible in many hospitals. Clinical suspicion of myocarditis is based on clinical symptoms and additional tests' abnormalities. The diagnosis should be confirmed by endomyocardial biopsy (EMB) - the gold standard for the diagnosis of myocarditis. The study aimed to assess trends in the use of diagnostic procedures performed in all patients hospitalized with suspected myocarditis in Poland between 2011-2019. METHODS: The nationwide MYO-PL database was derived from the database of the national healthcare insurer and created to identify hospitalization records with a primary diagnosis of myocarditis. We evaluated the use of recommended diagnostic procedures in this group of 19 978 patients within 6 months of the diagnosis of myocarditis. RESULTS: Echocardiography was the most frequently used imaging technique among patients, and the number of patients who underwent this procedure between 2011-2019 rose every year (71.3-86.1%). Use of nuclear medicine procedures remained < 1% regardless of the year. Biomarkers measurements during primary hospitalization were performed in 13.8% (brain natriuretic peptides) and 41.3% (troponins) of patients. Interestingly, EMB was performed in less than 1% of patients. The most sensitive noninvasive test (cardiac magnetic resonance) was performed in 16.4% of patients (7.2-29.2% within 10 years). Most diagnostic tests were less frequently performed in females. CONCLUSIONS: The results highlight that the management of patients with myocarditis could be significantly improved if state-of-the-art diagnostic methods were followed according to guidelines.
AbstractMyocarditis has been defined by the World Health Organization/ International Society and Federation of Cardiology as an inflammatory disease of the heart muscle diagnosed by established histological, immunologic, and immunohistological criteria [4]. It is a rare disease with the rate 0.5 patient per 10000 cases at the clinic [1]. It is caused primarily by numerous infectious agents, but it may also accompany autoimmune disease, hypersensitivity reactions, and toxins [2]. The core principles of treatment in myocarditis are optimal care of arrhythmia and of heart failure and, where supported by evidence, etiology-targeted therapy
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.
