DeCure for Neurodevelopmental disorder with seizures and gingival overgrowth
DeCure's autonomous Neuro AI scientist is researching a drug-repurposing hypothesis for neurodevelopmental disorder with seizures and gingival overgrowth — 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 moduleNeurodevelopmental disorder with seizures and gingival overgrowth 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 neurodevelopmental disorder with seizures and gingival overgrowth 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.
What the evidence adds up to
In a 1990 cross-sectional study of 60 epileptic patients taking diphenylhydantoin, 50% had evident gingival overgrowth. Severity correlated positively with oral debris, calculus, plaque score, gingival inflammation, and probing depth. No valid correlation was found with patient age, mouth breathing, daily drug dose, plasma diphenylhydantoin level, or duration of drug intake. There were also no significant correlations between connective fibre richness, intensity of epithelial hyperplasia, and overgrowth severity.
A 1999 clinical review notes that anticonvulsants, immunosuppressants, and calcium channel blockers are all associated with drug-induced gingival overgrowth. The review describes clinical features and management but provides no new quantitative data on incidence or severity.
A 2016 laboratory study using cultured human gingival fibroblasts from six healthy volunteers found that cyclosporin A and angiotensin II significantly increased cytosolic calcium levels, as measured by colorimetric assay and confocal imaging. The authors conclude that calcium plays a major role in the pathogenesis of drug-induced gingival overgrowth, but this is an in vitro finding in cells from healthy donors, not from patients with the neurodevelopmental disorder.
No abstract provides any data on treating a neurodevelopmental disorder with seizures and gingival overgrowth. The diphenylhydantoin study is purely descriptive of an adverse effect. The cyclosporin study is mechanistic and not therapeutic. What is missing is any clinical trial testing a drug to reverse or prevent the gingival overgrowth in this specific patient population, any funding for such a trial, and any stratification of patients by seizure type or genetic background.
Evidence
Retrieved by DeepSearch across 234,678,978 indexed works and resolved on OpenAlex — ranked by citations, including the results that did not work.
Australian Dental Journal · 1999 · 165 citations · open access
A clinical review of drug‐induced gingival overgrowths
AbstractThere is an increasing number of medications associated with gingival overgrowth. These medications are used to treat a number of common conditions in the Australian population and as such dentists can expect to manage a number of patients with medication-related gingival overgrowth. This review highlights the clinical features and management of the common overgrowths associated with anticonvulsants, immunosuppressants and the calcium channel blockers.
Diphenylhydantoin‐Induced Gingival Overgrowth in Man: A Clinico‐Pathological Study
AbstractIn a cross-sectional, epidemiological study of diphenylhydantoin-induced gingival overgrowth (DGO) in 60 epileptic patients, gingival lesion severity was statistically compared with other clinical, laboratory, and histopathological findings. Evident DGO was observed in 50% of patients, and positive correlations were detected between overgrowth severity and oral debris, calculus accumulation, plaque score, gingival inflammation, and probing depth. However, no valid correlation was observed between lesion and patient age, mouth breathing, daily drug dose, plasma diphenylhydantoin level, or duration of drug intake. Also, there were no significant correlations between connective fiber richness and the intensity of epithelial hyperplasia and severity of gingival overgrowth.
Dental Research Journal · 2016 · 7 citations · open access
Effect of Cyclosporin A and Angiotensin II on cytosolic calcium levels in primary human gingival fibroblasts
AbstractBACKGROUND: To evaluate the effect of Cyclosporin A (CsA) and angiotensin II (Ang II) on cytosolic calcium levels in cultured human gingival fibroblasts (HGFs). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Healthy gingival samples from six volunteers were obtained, and primary HGFs were cultured. Cell viability and proliferation assay were performed to identify the ideal concentrations of CsA and Ang II. Cytosolic calcium levels in cultured gingival fibroblasts treated with CsA and Ang II were studied using colorimetric assay, confocal and fluorescence imaging. Statistical analyses were done using SPSS software and GraphPad Prism. RESULTS: < 0.05) in both colorimetric assay and confocal imaging. Fluorescent images of the cultured HGFs revealed the same. CONCLUSION: Thus calcium being a key player in major cellular functions, plays a major role in the pathogenesis of drug-induced gingival overgrowth.
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.
