Rare & Orphan Lab · DeCure for X
DeCure's autonomous Rare AI scientist is researching a drug-repurposing hypothesis for polydactyly — screening already-approved drugs against its 34-gene Open Targets disease module to publish open-access research. Research is fast; the path to publication is funded in milestone stages.
No approved-drug candidate for polydactyly 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.
RAB23, member RAS oncogene family (RAB23) — RAB23 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.
RCSB Protein Data Bank · entry 8YL3 · 1.2 Å · ligand GUANOSINE-5'-DIPHOSPHATE (GDP). Experimental structure, not a prediction.
Polydactyly is defined as an extra finger or toe present at birth, a congenital anomaly that can occur as a single disorder or as part of a syndrome. Treatment is either conservative or operative, depending on the anticipated function of the extra digit. A 1954 paper describes rudimentary polydactyly, and a 1984 report details a seven-year-old girl with six fingers on each hand and seven-toed feet, who underwent surgery mainly for cosmetic reasons. That case is described as very rare mixed polydactyly, with both preaxial and postaxial involvement in the same person, and the authors note that large statistical studies on the subject are warranted. A 2022 report describes a bifid 5th digit on the right hand, a new variant of the type IIIB classification described by Duran in 2015, which the authors suggest may lead to modification of current classifications and improve diagnosis and treatment.
A 2002 conference abstract from Oxford discusses developmental mechanisms underlying polydactyly, but the full text is not accessible. A 2020 study of radial polydactyly bifercating at the metacarpophalangeal joint level examined 256 cases from January 2015 to December 2017, subdividing them into 11 subtypes according to X-rays of the thumb. The 1954 paper notes that polydactyly has great etiologic heterogeneity and that many facts about its genetics remain unknown. No drug treatments are mentioned in any of these abstracts.
What is still missing is any controlled trial of a pharmacological intervention for polydactyly, as all reports focus on surgical correction or classification. There is no evidence for drug repurposing in this condition, and no patient stratification beyond anatomical subtypes. Funding for large-scale genetic or developmental studies, as called for in 1984, has not produced the statistical studies that were warranted.
Retrieved by DeepSearch across 234,678,978 indexed works and resolved on OpenAlex — ranked by citations, including the results that did not work.
AbstractJournal Article RUDIMENTARY POLYDACTYLY. Get access P. J. HARE P. J. HARE University College Hospital, London Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar British Journal of Dermatology, Volume 66, Issue 11, 1 November 1954, Pages 402–408, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2133.1954.tb12568.x Published: 01 November 1954
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2133.1954.tb12568.xAbstractPolydactyly is an entity of great etiologic heterogeneity, and many facts about its genetics remain unknown. Therefore, the relative terminology and classification in the literature are rather obscure. Mixed polydactyly, i.e., polydactyly with both preaxial and postaxial involvement in the same person, is very rare, and crossed polydactyly is even more so. A seven-year-old girl with six fingers on each hand and seven-toed feet, lower-mixed and crossed polydactyly with syndactyly, underwent operation mainly for cosmetic reasons. The report of this rare case confirms the great variability and expressivity of this malformation and suggests that large statistical studies on this subject in the future are warranted.
https://doi.org/10.1097/00003086-198406000-00037AbstractPolydactyly is defined as an extra finger or toe that is present at birth. It is a congenital anomaly that can manifest as a single disorder or as a component of a syndrome. Treatment can be conservative or operative depending on the anticipated function of the extra digit. In this report, we describe a case of a bifid 5th digit on the right hand. The aim of this report was to report a new variant of type IIIB described by Duran (2015). This will possibly lead to the modification of the current classifications, which will improve the diagnosis and treatment of patients.
https://doi.org/10.1097/gox.0000000000004555AbstractConference Abstract| July 01 2002 Developmental Mechanisms Underlying Polydactyly Miss A Crick; Miss A Crick 1Department of Human Anatomy & Genetics, University of Oxford2 Department of Plastic Surgery, The Radcliffe Infirmary, Oxford. Search for other works by this author on: This Site PubMed Google Scholar RJM Brown; RJM Brown 1Department of Human Anatomy & Genetics, University of Oxford Search for other works by this author on: This Site PubMed Google Scholar GM Morriss-Kay GM Morriss-Kay 1Department of Human Anatomy & Genetics, University of Oxford Search for other works by this author on: This Site PubMed Google Scholar Clin Sci (Lond) (2002) 103 (s47): 72P. https://doi.org/10.1042/cs103072Pa Views Icon Views Article contents Figures & tables Video Audio Supplementary Data Peer Review Share Icon Share Twitter LinkedIn Cite Icon Cite Get Permissions Citation Miss A Crick, RJM Brown, GM Morriss-Kay; Developmental Mechanisms Underlying Polydactyly. Clin Sci (Lond) 1 July 2002; 103 (s47): 72P. doi: https://doi.org/10.1042/cs103072Pa Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Reference Manager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu nav search search input Search input auto suggest search filter All ContentAll JournalsClinical Science Search Advanced Search This content is only available as a PDF. © 2002 The Biochemical Society and the Medical Research Society2002 Article PDF first page preview Close Modal You do not currently have access to this content.
https://doi.org/10.1042/cs103072paAbstractObjectives/Interrogation: Among different types of radial polydactyly, cases bifercating at the metacarpophalangeal (MP) joint level is the most common,and it can be subdivided into 11 subtypes according to X-rays of the thumb. Methods: From Jan 2015 to Dec 2017, 256 cases of radial polydactyly[for full text, please go to the a.m. URL]
https://doi.org/10.3205/19ifssh0040Disease 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.
