DeCure's autonomous Rare AI scientist is researching a drug-repurposing hypothesis for optic choroid disorder — screening already-approved drugs against its 8-gene Open Targets disease module to publish open-access research. Research is fast; the path to publication is funded in milestone stages.
Disease moduleOptic choroid disorder maps to a 8-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 optic choroid disorder 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
insulin (INS) — INS 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 hc4drag to rotate · scroll to zoom
RCSB Protein Data Bank · entry 6TC2 · 1.36 Å · ligand 4'-HYDROXYCINNAMIC ACID (HC4). Experimental structure, not a prediction.
What the evidence adds up to
In a 2005 monkey study of experimental choroidal neovascularisation, six animals received an intravitreal injection of ranibizumab followed one week later by verteporfin photodynamic therapy (PDT), four received PDT followed one week later by ranibizumab, and two received both treatments on the same day at two-week intervals. No choroidal neovascularisation leakage was observed in any eye treated with ranibizumab plus PDT at day 21 or day 42 after the first treatment. Leakage persisted in eyes treated with PDT alone at day 21 (3 of 12 eyes) and day 42 (2 of 12 eyes). The combination produced better angiographic outcomes than PDT alone at all time points studied. These are preliminary data from 12 animals, not from human patients.
A 2020 literature review examined phosphodiesterase type 5 (PDE5) inhibitors — sildenafil, tadalafil, vardenafil — and their effects on the choroid. The review states that PDE5 inhibitors may increase choroidal thickness and perfusion, and that patients with age-related macular degeneration who have decreased choroidal perfusion may manifest more severely diminished choroidal ability to deliver oxygen to the retina, potentially leading to growth of neovascular tissue. The review also notes that engorgement of choroidal vasculature can cause leakage across the retinal pigment epithelium and accumulation of subretinal fluid, resulting in central serous chorioretinopathy. Transient visual symptoms such as changes in colour perception and increased light sensitivity are well-known adverse effects, and there have been rare reports of nonarteritic anterior ischaemic optic neuropathy and cilioretinal artery occlusion in users of PDE5 inhibitors. The review does not present any original trial data showing that these drugs improve visual outcomes in any choroidal disorder.
A 2010 overview of ocular pharmacology for diseases of the vitreous, retina and choroid states that recent progress in drug delivery and local management should enable better anatomical and functional outcomes, but provides no specific results. A 2015 genetic study of a Tunisian family with choroideremia identified an IVS1+1G>A mutation in the CHM gene, leading to functional loss of the REP-1 protein. The three affected patients had night blindness, visual field constriction, undetectable electroretinography, and diffuse chorioretinal atrophy. No treatment was tested.
What is still missing: no human trial has tested ranibizumab plus PDT for choroidal neovascularisation outside the monkey model; the PDE5 inhibitor review offers only a physiological rationale without controlled efficacy data; choroideremia remains without any pharmacological intervention tested in the reported family. Money for randomised human trials, adequate patient stratification by choroidal perfusion status, and long-term safety monitoring are all absent from these abstracts.
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 Ophthalmology · 2005 · 98 citations
Safety and Efficacy of Intravitreal Injection of Ranibizumab in Combination With Verteporfin PDT on Experimental Choroidal Neovascularization in the Monkey
AbstractOBJECTIVE: To study the safety and efficacy of intravitreal injections of anti-vascular endothelial growth factor antibody fragment (ranibizumab [formerly known as rhuFabV2], Lucentis; Genentech, South San Francisco, Calif) in combination with intravenous verteporfin (Visudyne; Novartis, East Hanover, NJ) photodynamic therapy (PDT) on experimental choroidal neovascularization in the monkey eye. METHODS: Choroidal neovascularization was induced by laser injury in both eyes of cynomolgus monkeys and followed with weekly fundus photography and fluorescein angiography. Two weeks after induction, weekly treatments were initiated. These treatments included using either an intravitreal injection of ranibizumab (previously known as rhuFabV2) in combination with verteporfin PDT or a ranibizumab vehicle (placebo) in combination with verteporfin PDT (PDT only). Six animals (group 1) initially received intravitreal injections followed 1 week later by PDT. Four animals (group 2) initially received PDT followed 1 week later by intravitreal injection. Two animals (group 3) received injections and PDT on the same day at 2-week intervals. Photodynamic therapy was applied in all 3 groups every 2 weeks for 3 treatments with follow-up through 2 weeks after the last PDT treatment. Fluorescein angiograms were graded using a masked standardized protocol. The data were analyzed using the McNemar chi(2) test for matched pairs. RESULTS: No choroidal neovascularization leakage was observed in the eyes of animals treated with ranibizumab and PDT at day 21 or 42 after the start of the first treatment. Leakage persisted in eyes treated with PDT alone at 21 days (3 of 12 eyes) and 42 days (2 of 12 eyes). At all time points studied, the ranibizumab and PDT-treated eyes experienced better angiographic outcomes than the eyes receiving PDT alone. CONCLUSION: These preliminary data indicate that an intravitreal ranibizumab injection in combination with verteporfin PDT (ranibizumab and PDT) causes a greater reduction in angiographic leakage than PDT and intravitreal vehicle injection (PDT only) in experimental choroidal neovascularization. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: This combination therapy can potentially offer a new treatment modality for choroidal neovascularization in patients with macular degeneration and other diseases.
Clinical ophthalmology · 2012 · 34 citations · open access
Current options for the treatment of optic neuritis
AbstractOptic neuritis can be defined as typical (associated with multiple sclerosis, improving independent of steroid treatment), or atypical (not associated with multiple sclerosis, steroid-dependent improvement). Causes of atypical optic neuritis include connective tissue diseases (eg, lupus), vasculitis, sarcoidosis, or neuromyelitis optica. In this manuscript, updated treatment options for both typical and atypical optic neuritis are reviewed. Conventional treatments, such as corticosteroids, therapeutic plasma exchange, and intravenous immunoglobulin therapy are all discussed with commentary regarding evidence-based outcomes. Less commonly used treatments and novel purported therapies for optic neuritis are also reviewed. Special scenarios in the treatment of optic neuritis - pediatric optic neuritis, acute demyelinating encephalomyelitis, and optic neuritis occurring during pregnancy - are specifically examined.
International Journal of Retina and Vitreous · 2020 · 27 citations · open access
Effects of phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitors on choroid and ocular vasculature: a literature review
AbstractTo provide information on the effects of phosphodiesterase type 5 (PDE5) inhibitors on choroidal vessels and central serous chorioretinopathy (CSC) and possible implications for development of exudative age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Two independent investigators conducted a qualitative review of PubMed to identify studies on the choroidal effect of PDE5 inhibitors in June 2019. The search used key words that included PDE5 inhibitors, sildenafil, tadalafil, vardenafil, choroid, choroidal flow, choroidal vessels, choroidal thickness, CSC, AMD or a combination. Only studies which assessed choroidal findings were included. Many ocular diseases are related to changes in choroidal thickness and perfusion. Patients with AMD, who have decreased choroidal perfusion, may manifest more severely diminished choroidal ability to deliver oxygen and other metabolites to the retina, leading to growth of neovascular tissue. As a result of this engorgement of the choroidal vasculature, some patients may have leakage across the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) and accumulation of subretinal fluid, resulting in CSC. Transient visual symptoms, i.e., changes in color perception and increased light sensitivity, are well-known adverse effects, but there have been rare reports of vision-threatening ocular complications in users of PDE5 inhibitors, such as nonarteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy and cilioretinal artery occlusion. The choroid is a vascular tissue analogous in many respects to the corpus cavernosum, and PDE5 inhibitors may increase the choroidal thickness and perfusion. While it is intuitively obvious that thickness of the choroid alone does not guarantee better choriocapillaris oxygenation, it is a reasonable step towards ameliorating ischemia. These drugs have numerous physiologic effects on the choroid related to blood flow, such as clinical consequences in CSC and AMD.
Arquivos Brasileiros de Oftalmologia · 2010 · 2 citations · open access
Farmacologia ocular aplicada no tratamento de doenças do vítreo, retina e coróide
AbstractRetinal diseases are frequently causes of impaired visual acuity and blindness. Recent progress in ocular pharmacology leads to the development of new promising drugs and better functional outcomes. Drug delivery and local management of diseases affecting the choroid and retina should enable better anatomical and functional outcomes. An overview of ocular pharmacology, emerging drug technologies and drug delivery is provided. Some relevant clinical features are discussed.
Genetic study in a tunisian family revealed IVS1+1G>A mutation in the CHM gene
AbstractChoroideremia is a rare X-linked recessive, hereditary retinal pigment epithelial dystrophy, characterized by night blindness and progressive constriction of the visual fields leading to blindness in young adulthood. In this study, we reported three cases of choroideremia belonging to a Tunisian family. Patients complained of vision loss and night blindness. Fundus examination revealed diffused chorioretenal atrophy. In all cases, there was a visual field constriction and an undetectable electroretinography. Direct sequencing of the CHM gene detected a guanine to adenine transition (G>A) into the donor splice site of intron 1 leads to aberrantly spliced mRNA producing a premature stop codon and therefore functional loss of the CHM gene product, REP-1. The diagnosis should be considered in patients with a suitable family history and fundus findings.
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.
