DeCure's autonomous Rare AI scientist is researching a drug-repurposing hypothesis for orofacial cleft 5 — 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 moduleOrofacial cleft 5 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 orofacial cleft 5 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
A 2012 systematic review of cleft lip and palate treatment found only 28 randomised controlled trials (RCTs) among 170 articles identified as adequate to guide clinical practice. The experimental approaches examined in those 28 trials were infant orthopedics, rectal acetaminophen, palatal block with bupivacaine, infraorbital nerve block with bupivacaine, osteogenesis distraction, intravenous dexamethasone sodium phosphate, and alveoloplasty with bone morphogenetic protein-2 (BMP-2). The review concluded that few RCTs address cleft treatment, especially surgical repair, and called for more multicentre collaboration to reduce treatment variability and ensure evidence-based practice.
A 2014 review notes that orofacial clefts affect roughly 1 in 1000 births. The aetiology is complex, involving genetic and environmental factors. Non-syndromic clefts are more common than syndromic forms and are thought to arise from gene–environment interactions. Research has identified some genes for rare syndromic clefts and candidate genes and loci for non-syndromic variants, with animal models contributing to understanding. The review describes known genes and the genetic approaches used to find additional genes and interactions.
A 2010 article describes orthodontic treatment as an integral part of the multidisciplinary protocol for orofacial cleft patients in specialised Czech centres in Prague and Brno, focusing on functional and aesthetic rehabilitation of soft tissues, jaw defects, and dentition. No drug intervention is tested or recommended in that report.
No drug has been shown in these abstracts to prevent, reverse, or alter the underlying development of orofacial clefts. The 2012 systematic review confirms that the evidence base for any intervention remains thin, with no large-scale surgical RCTs. What is still missing are adequately powered, multicentre randomised trials comparing surgical techniques and perioperative drug regimens, as well as studies that stratify patients by cleft 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.
Plastic Surgery International · 2012 · 96 citations · open access
Protocols in Cleft Lip and Palate Treatment: Systematic Review
AbstractObjectives. To find clinical decisions on cleft treatment based on randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Method. Searches were made in PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Library on cleft lip and/or palate. From the 170 articles found in the searches, 28 were considered adequate to guide clinical practice. Results. A scarce number of RCTs were found approaching cleft treatment. The experimental clinical approaches analyzed in the 28 articles were infant orthopedics, rectal acetaminophen, palatal block with bupivacaine, infraorbital nerve block with bupivacaine, osteogenesis distraction, intravenous dexamethasone sodium phosphate, and alveoloplasty with bone morphogenetic protein-2 (BMP-2). Conclusions. Few randomized controlled trials were found approaching cleft treatment, and fewer related to surgical repair of this deformity. So there is a need for more multicenter collaborations, mainly on surgical area, to reduce the variety of treatment modalities and to ensure that the cleft patient receives an evidence-based clinical practice.
Dicle Medical Journal / Dicle Tip Dergisi · 2014 · 5 citations · open access
Congenital orofacial clefts: Etiology and Frequency
AbstractOrofacial clefts are congenital structural anomalies of the lip and/or palate. These anomalies affect ~1/1000 in the community. The etiology of orofacial clefts is complex, including various genetic and environmental agents. Syndrome is not accompanied by any isolated orofacial clefts are more common, although environmental factors often play a role in the etiology. Mendelian or teratogenic origins; the non-syndromic forms of orofacial clefts are more common and are likely due to secondary gene–environment interactions. Latest researches in both molecular and quantitative approaches have begun to identify the genes responsible for the rare syndromic forms of cleft and have also identified both candidate genes and loci for the more common and complex non-syndromic variants. Animal models, have also contributed greatly to an comprehension of these anomalies. We aimed to describes genes that are involved in orofacial clefts in humans and animal models and explores genetic approaches to identifying additional genes and gene–environment interactions that constitute the many factors of orofacial clefts in this review.
[Application of autologous costal cartilage-based open rhinoplasty in secondary unilateral cleft lip nasal deformity].
AbstractOBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effectiveness of autologous costal cartilage-based open rhinoplasty in the correction of secondary unilateral cleft lip nasal deformity. METHODS: Between January 2013 and June 2020, 30 patients with secondary unilateral cleft lip nasal deformity were treated, including 13 males and 17 females; aged 14-41 years, with an average of 21.7 years. Among them, 18 cases were cleft lip, 9 cases were cleft lip and palate, and 3 cases were cleft lip and palate with cleft alveolar. The autologous costal cartilage-based open rhinoplasty was used for the treatment, and the alar annular graft was used to correct the collapsed alar of the affected side. Before operation and at 6-12 months after operation, photos were taken in the anteroposterior position, nasal base position, oblique position, and left and right lateral positions, and the following indicators were measured: rhinofacial angle, nasolabial angle, deviation angle of central axis of columella, nostril height to width ratio, and bilateral nasal symmetry index (including nostril height, nostril width, and nostril height to width ratio). RESULTS: <0.05). Eleven patients (36.7%) requested revision operation, and the results were satisfactory after revision. The rest of the patients' nasal deformities were greatly improved at one time, and they were satisfied with the effectiveness. CONCLUSION: Autologous costal cartilage-based open rhinoplasty with the alar annular graft is a safe and effective treatment for secondary unilateral cleft lip nasal deformity.
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.
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.
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