DeCure's autonomous AMR AI scientist is researching a drug-repurposing hypothesis for peritonsillar abscess — screening already-approved drugs against its 13-gene Open Targets disease module to publish open-access research. Research is fast; the path to publication is funded in milestone stages.
Disease modulePeritonsillar abscess maps to a 13-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 peritonsillar abscess 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
methylthioadenosine phosphorylase (MTAP) — MTAP 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 2s,3s,4r,5sdrag to rotate · scroll to zoom
RCSB Protein Data Bank · entry 5TC6 · 1.48 Å · ligand (2S,3S,4R,5S)-2-(4-amino-5H-pyrrolo[3,2-d]pyrimidin-7-yl)-5-[(propylsulfanyl)methyl]pyrrolidine-3,4-diol (7A6). Experimental structure, not a prediction.
What the evidence adds up to
A 1984 study of 41 patients found that 90% (37/41) of peritonsillar abscesses resolved with needle aspiration alone as the initial surgical treatment, and half of the patients were treated by non-otolaryngologists. A 2006 protocol treating 98 Native American patients with hydration, antibiotics, steroids, and pain control reported that only 4.1% (4 patients) subsequently required needle aspiration or incision and drainage. A 2023 study of 90 patients reported that all were treated medically and the majority underwent incision and drainage, but stated that the curative method is interval tonsillectomy. A 2024 study of 162 patients diagnosed by contrast-enhanced CT reported that 48.3% were treated by incision, 14.5% by puncture, 36.0% with antibiotics alone, and 1.2% via abscess tonsillectomy; recurrence occurred in 8.6% (14 patients), with 57.1% of recurrences within three months.
Microbiological data from 2006 showed that 87% of 30 aspirates yielded positive cultures: 23% grew only aerobes, 60% mixed aerobes and anaerobes, and 3% only anaerobes. The most common aerobic isolate was Streptococcus sp, with Streptococcus pyogenes in 23% of aspirates; predominant anaerobes were Prevotella sp and Peptostreptococcus sp. Patients who had received prior antibiotics yielded 1.8 isolates per specimen versus 3.0 in the untreated group, but the species isolated did not differ. A 2023 study of 90 patients reported Streptococcus pyogenes as the most common gram-positive organism, most sensitive to linezolid and least sensitive to amoxicillin, and Klebsiella pneumoniae as the most common gram-negative organism, most sensitive to imipenem and least sensitive to amikacin. A 2024 study of 162 patients found 78 causative strains: 24 aerobic (predominantly Streptococcus pyogenes, 51.6%) and 47 anaerobic; bacterial resistance rates were 5.8% for piperacillin, 3.4% for ceftriaxone, 2.6% for meropenem, 11.5% for clindamycin, 28.6% for levofloxacin, and 15.4% for minocycline.
A 1943 review noted that little had been published on sulfonamide compounds for peritonsillar abscess and that the adequacy of incision and drainage was unsatisfactory in some patients. The 2024 study concluded that contrast-enhanced CT should be used to diagnose the location, size, and shape of the abscess and select optimal treatment. No abstract compared medical therapy alone to surgical drainage in a randomised trial, and no abstract reported long-term follow-up beyond recurrence rates. What is still missing is a randomised controlled trial comparing outpatient medical protocols with needle aspiration or incision and drainage, standardised patient stratification by abscess size or microbiology, and funding for such a trial.
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 Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery · 1984 · 57 citations
Permucosal Needle Drainage of Peritonsillar Abscesses: A Five-Year Experience
AbstractForty-one patients with proved peritonsillar abscesses were treated during a five-year period with needle aspiration as the sole initial surgical treatment. Ninety percent (37/41) of the patients' abscesses resolved without further invasive therapy. All but two of the patients were treated as outpatients. Fifty percent (21/41) of the patients were treated by nonotolaryngologists. These data indicate that outpatient needle aspiration is the simplest, most cost-effective therapy for peritonsillar abscess.
Ear Nose & Throat Journal · 2006 · 30 citations · open access
An Outpatient Medical Treatment Protocol for Peritonsillar Abscess
AbstractSeveral surgical methods are used to treat peritonsillar abscess, but no protocol for outpatient medical treatment has yet been published. Between February 2002 and February 2005, we treated 98 peritonsillar abscess patients with an outpatient medical regimen that involved hydration, antibiotics, steroids, and good pain control. All patients were Native Americans, who are known to have a particularly high incidence of peritonsillar abscess. The medical regimen was generally successful, as only 4 patients (4.1%) subsequently required post-treatment needle aspiration or incision and drainage. We conclude that the medical protocol described herein provides practitioners with a viable noninvasive alternative for treating peritonsillar abscess.
Brazilian Journal of Otorhinolaryngology · 2006 · 19 citations · open access
Microbiology of Peritonsillar Abscesses
AbstractAIM: The objective of the present study was to analyze the microbiology of peritonsillar abscesses. METHODS: Thirty patients, mean age 24,2 years, with peritonsillar abscesses underwent aspiration of at least 3 mL of pus, which was cultured for aerobes and anaerobes. RESULTS: 87% samples showed positive cultures. Aerobic or facultative aerobic bacteria were isolated from 23% aspirates, mixed aerobic and anaerobic bacteria from 60%, and anaerobic bacteria from only 3% aspirate. A total of 69 bacterial isolates (34 aerobic and 35 anaerobic) were recovered. The most common aerobic isolate was Streptococcus sp, with Streptococcus pyogenes being identified in 23% of aspirates. The predominant anaerobic isolates were Prevotella sp and Peptostreptococcus sp. Patients had received previous antimicrobial therapy in 63% cases. In this group, 1.8 isolates per specimen were recovered, a lower number than in the untreated group (3.0 per specimen). No significant difference in the species isolated was observed between these two groups. CONCLUSION: Peritonsillar abscess is usually a polymicrobial infection, with predominance of anaerobic bacteria. The number of agents isolated was larger in patients not previously treated with antibiotics, but the use of antimicrobial drugs did not interfere with the type of bacterium isolated.
Archives of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery · 1943 · 3 citations
PERITONSILLITIS AND PERITONSILLAR ABSCESS: WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO TREATMENT WITH THE SULFONAMIDE COMPOUNDS
AbstractA review of the literature on peritonsillar abscess and peritonsillitis does not impress one with the adequacy of present day therapy. Not until one has been confronted with several patients in quick succession for whom the results of incision and drainage are unsatisfactory, as I have been, does one realize how unsatisfactory the accepted form of therapy is. Only when incision and drainage result in the successful evacuation of an abscess, with the great relief that occurs shortly thereafter, is one justified in inflicting the pain and discomfort resulting therefrom on the patient. Much has been written on the improvement and modification of the surgical approach to this problem, but the new methods have not been universally accepted. Despite the introduction of the sulfonamide compounds in 1937, little mention has been made of their use in the treatment of peritonsillar abscess and peritonsillitis, certainly not enough from which to draw
Peritonsillar Abscess: Clinico-bacteriological Profile and its Management
AbstractBackground: Peritonsillar abscess requires early identification and its management is very crucial.This study was conducted with the aim that presentation of this disease process will be better understood along with the microbiological study of the causative organisms so that better and more targeted use of anti-microbials can be put into place and also curative way of this disease can be identified.Objectives: To assess the clinico -bacteriological profile and the management modalities of peritonsillar abscess. Materials and Methods:A cross-sectional study was conducted in the Department of Otorhinolaryngology in collaboration with the Department of Microbiology, Regional Institute of Medical Sciences, Imphal, Manipur for a period of 2 years from September 2018 to October 2020.90 patients with peritonsillar abscess were enrolled in the study.The clinico -bacteriological profile of peritonsillar abscess and different aspects of its management features were studied.Results: Most of the patients were in the 4-5 th decade of life with an overall female preponderance.The most common presenting complaint was throat pain and the common clinical finding was congestion and bulging of the soft palate.The majority of the patients had the first episode of peritonsillar abscess.The most common gram positive organism isolated was Streptococcus pyogenes and was more sensitive to linezolid and least sensitive to amoxicillin.The most common gram negative organism isolated was Klebsiella pneumonia which was most sensitive to imipenem and least sensitive to amikacin.All the patients were treated with medical treatment and the majority of the patients underwent incision and drainage. Conclusion:Streptococcus pyogenes and Staphylococcus aureus were more commonly associated with peritonsillar abscess.Although incision and drainage or aspiration by needle along with antibiotic therapy helped in the immediate relief of symptoms, the curative method of treatment is interval tonsillectomy.
International Journal of Practical Otolaryngology · 2024 · 0 citations · open access
Clinical Study of 162 Cases of Peritonsillar Abscess Diagnosed by Contrast-Enhanced Computed Tomography
AbstractAbstract In this retrospective clinical study of peritonsillar abscesses, we reviewed the data of 162 patients (116 males and 46 females) with peritonsillar abscess aged 8 to 86 years (mean age, 37.0 years) who had been diagnosed by contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CT), hospitalized, and treated for the abscess between January 2017 and December 2022. The abscess occurred on the left side in 72 (44.4%) patients, on the right side in 80 (49.4%) patients, and bilaterally in 10 (6.2%) patients. The abscess was of the superior oval type on 85 (49.4%) sides, the superior cap type on 41 (23.8%) sides, the inferior oval type on 25 (14.5%) sides, and the inferior cap type on 21 (12.2%) sides. Among 111 patients, bacteriological examination of the abscess fluid for the causative bacteria yielded 78 causative strains, including 24 strains of aerobic bacteria, predominantly Streptococcus pyogenes (51.6%), and 47 strains of anaerobic bacteria; the remainder were mixed bacterial strains. Bacterial resistance rates to antibiotics were as follows: 5.8% for piperacillin, 3.4% for ceftriaxone, 2.6% for meropenem, 11.5% for clindamycin, 28.6% for levofloxacin, and 15.4% for minocycline. Of the 162 patients, 83 (48.3%) were treated by incision, 25 (14.5%) by puncture, 62 (36.0%) with antibiotics, and 2 (1.2%) via abscess tonsillectomy. The most frequently used antibiotics (87.2% cases) were ampicillin/sulbactam combined with clindamycin and/or dexamethasone. The peritonsillar abscess recurred in 14 (8.6%) patients, and the recurrence occurred within 3 months of the initial onset in 8 (57.1%) of these patients. In conclusion, contrast-enhanced CT should be performed to accurately diagnose the location, size, and shape of a peritonsillar abscess and select the optimal treatment.
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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