DeCure's autonomous Rare AI scientist is researching a drug-repurposing hypothesis for orofacial cleft 10 — screening already-approved drugs against its 2-gene Open Targets disease module to publish open-access research. Research is fast; the path to publication is funded in milestone stages.
Disease moduleOrofacial cleft 10 maps to a 2-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 orofacial cleft 10 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
small ubiquitin like modifier 1 (SUMO1) — SUMO1 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 1r,2r,3s,4rdrag to rotate · scroll to zoom
RCSB Protein Data Bank · entry 6XOG · 1.98 Å · ligand {(1R,2R,3S,4R)-4-[(5-{4-[(1S)-1-(6-bromopyridin-2-yl)-1-hydroxyethyl]thiophene-2-carbonyl}pyrimidin-4-yl)amino]-2,3-dihydroxycyclopentyl}methyl sulfamate (VAY). Experimental structure, not a prediction.
What the evidence adds up to
A 2024 comparative study of 40 infants with complete unilateral cleft lip and palate found that passive presurgical plate therapy, started immediately after birth and continued until single-stage repair at eight months, reduced the average true cleft area by 32.7% compared to no presurgical treatment. The mean presurgical true cleft area was 106.8 mm² in the untreated group (28 patients) and 71.9 mm² in the treated group (12 patients), with a 95% confidence interval for the difference of 9.8 to 60.1 mm². The average anterior width of the true cleft was also significantly smaller in the treated group, though posterior width was similar between groups. The authors note that the implication for surgical outcome may depend on the surgical technique used.
A 2021 case report from the perspective of a patient with unilateral cleft lip and palate describes the long-term treatment pathway as requiring many staged surgical and non-surgical interventions from a multidisciplinary team, with a heavy burden of care. The report emphasises that treatment aims to restore form and function related to hearing, speech, occlusion and facial aesthetics, and that team members should be aware of the psychosocial challenges patients endure throughout treatment and beyond.
A 2010 article on orthodontic treatment of facial cleft patients, published in Czech, states that the goal of treatment is functional and aesthetic rehabilitation of the soft tissues of the face, the jaw defect and the dentition. It notes that interdisciplinary care is concentrated in specialised cleft centres, and that orthodontic therapy is an integral part of the treatment protocol. A 2023 evidence-based review of presurgical infant orthopaedic protocols confirms that a wide array of treatment options exist and that the approach is applied before surgical repair to facilitate the procedure by restoring the alar base and maintaining skeletal and soft tissue harmony.
What remains missing are prospective trials that directly link specific presurgical plate protocols to long-term surgical outcomes, speech, hearing and quality-of-life measures. The available studies are small, retrospective or single-centre, and no trial has yet stratified patients by cleft width or other anatomical variables to determine which infants benefit most from passive plate therapy. Funding for adequately powered, multi-centre randomised trials with standardised outcome measures is lacking.
Evidence
Retrieved by DeepSearch across 234,678,978 indexed works and resolved on OpenAlex — ranked by citations, including the results that did not work.
Journal of Plastic Reconstructive & Aesthetic Surgery · 2024 · 5 citations · open access
Comparative study on cleft palate morphology after passive presurgical plate therapy in unilateral cleft lip and palate
AbstractBackground Presurgical plate therapy has been a widely accepted treatment prior to palatal cleft closure. The effects of passive presurgical plate therapy on cleft morphology prior to single-stage unilateral cleft lip and palate (UCLP) repair was quantified. Patients and methods We compared the dimensions of cleft width and cleft area (true cleft and palatal cleft) measured pre-operatively at two European cleft centers. Center A performed single-stage UCLP repair at the infants' age of 8 months without any presurgical orthopedic treatment. Center B initiated passive presurgical plate therapy immediately after birth of the neonates, followed by single-stage UCLP repair at 8 months of age. Results We included 28 patients with complete UCLP from Center A and 12 patients from Center B. The average anterior width of the true cleft before surgery was significantly smaller in infants at Center B than Center A (p=0.001) with 95% confidence interval of (1.8, 5.7) mm, but average posterior width was similar in the two groups. Mean presurgical true cleft area amounted to 106.8 mm 2 (sd=42.4 mm 2 ) at Center A and 71.9 mm 2 (sd=32.2 mm 2 ) at Center B, with a confidence interval for the difference being (9.8, 60.1) mm 2 . This corresponded to a 32.7% reduction of the true cleft area (TCA) if passive presurgical plate therapy was used for the first 8 months of the infants' life. Conclusion Passive presurgical plate therapy in UCLP significantly reduced the cleft area. Implication for the subsequent surgical outcome might depend on the surgical technique used.
BMJ Case Reports · 2021 · 3 citations · open access
Long-term treatment outcomes from the perspective of a patient with unilateral cleft lip and palate
AbstractThe management of patients with orofacial cleft (OFC) often extends from diagnosis or birth well into adulthood and requires many different specialists within multidisciplinary teams (MDT). The aims of treatment are to restore form and function relating to hearing, speech, occlusion and facial aesthetics. People with OFCs that include the lip, alveolus and palate (cleft lip and palate (CLP)) require several different staged and coordinated surgical and non-surgical interventions, and the treatment pathway is associated with a heavy burden of care. Due to the extensive nature of the interaction with these patients, MDT members have opportunities to provide enhanced patient-centred care and support. This case report provides an overview of the current knowledge of the aetiology of OFC and the management of these patients. It provides a unique perspective from one of the coauthors who has a unilateral CLP (UCLP) and reports on his treatment experiences and long-term treatment outcomes. By having a better understanding of the impact of UCLP and treatment provided, MDT members can not only provide improved clinical treatment but also offer improved patient experiences for those with craniofacial anomalies, in particular, an increased awareness of the psychosocial challenges, they endure throughout their treatment pathway and beyond.
Česká stomatologie a praktické zubní lékařství · 2010 · 1 citations · open access
Orthodontic Treatment of a Patient with Facial Cleft (Part 1)
AbstractCĂlem lĂŠÄby pacientĹŻ postiĹženĂ˝ch rozĹĄtÄpem v orofaciĂĄlnĂ oblasti je funkÄnĂ a estetickĂĄ rehabilitace mÄkkĂ˝ch tkĂĄnĂ obliÄeje, defektu Äelisti a dentice. Na komplexnĂ lĂŠÄbÄ se v zĂĄvislosti na typu a rozsahu defektu, postnatĂĄlnĂm vĂ˝voji a zdravotnĂm stavu postiĹženĂŠho dĂtÄte podĂlĂ tĂ˝m specialistĹŻ, jehoĹž interdisciplinĂĄrnĂ pĂŠÄe je soustĹedÄna do specializovanĂ˝ch rozĹĄtÄpovĂ˝ch center. V ÄeskĂŠ republice majĂ dlouholetou tradici pracoviĹĄtÄ v Praze a v BrnÄ. NedĂlnou souÄĂĄstĂ lĂŠÄebnĂŠho protokolu je ortodontickĂĄ terapie. NĂĄsledujĂcĂ sdÄlenĂ je shrnutĂm nejdĹŻleĹžitÄjĹĄĂch fĂĄzĂ ortodontickĂŠ lĂŠÄby v nĂĄvaznosti na chirurgickĂŠ rekonstrukce stĹednĂ obliÄejovĂŠ etĂĄĹže.
IntechOpen eBooks · 2023 · 0 citations · open access
Protocols in Presurgical Infant Orthopaedic Treatment—An Evidence Based Review
AbstractPresurgical infant orthopaedic (PSIO) protocol is applied prior to cleft Lip and/cleft palate surgical intervention to facilitate the repair by restoring the alar base and maintaining the skeletal, soft tissue harmony. The objective of this review is to assess the literature on the presurgical infant orthopaedic protocol most widely used and accepted. Searches were made in PubMed, Cochrane and Google Scholar on cleft lip and/palate. A large number of articles documented approaching PSIO for cleft treatment with the intent to provide a satisfactory treatment for cleft patients, requiring far more than just correctional surgery and its ability to do so is unique. Craniofacial Orthodontists can choose from a wide array of treatment options for their patients and can learn from the outcomes attained by applying a combination of outcomes at various other centers.
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.
