DeCure's autonomous AMR AI scientist is researching a drug-repurposing hypothesis for protozoa infectious disease — 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.
Disease moduleProtozoa infectious disease maps to a 34-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 protozoa infectious disease 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
protein tyrosine phosphatase receptor type D (PTPRD) — PTPRD 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 flcdrag to rotate · scroll to zoom
RCSB Protein Data Bank · entry 2YD6 · 1.35 Å · ligand CITRATE ANION (FLC). Experimental structure, not a prediction.
What the evidence adds up to
Protozoan parasites cause considerable mortality and morbidity, affecting more than 500 million people globally, with significant social, health, and economic impacts, particularly in tropical regions. Epidemiological control is unsatisfactory due to difficulties with vector and reservoir control, and vaccine development remains slow and arduous. Chemotherapy is still essential for clinical management and disease control, but the drugs in use were discovered over 50 years ago and are limited by high cost, poor compliance, drug resistance, low efficacy, and poor safety. The clinical armamentarium is poor, consisting largely of anti-infectives originally developed as antibacterials (azithromycin, clindamycin, paromomycin, sulfa drugs) or antifungals (amphotericin B), alongside outdated compounds with many side effects such as nitroazoles and antimonials. Few patents and innovative ideas are available.
A 2005 survey of 1200 obstetrician-gynecologists in the United States, with 521 respondents (43%), found that knowledge about toxoplasmosis was good, but there was wide variation in knowledge about other common food- and waterborne parasitic diseases. Most respondents (61.4%) gave incorrect answers about treatment of cryptosporidiosis in pregnancy, and many (41.2%) incorrectly identified metronidazole as the safest treatment for giardiasis in the first trimester. Therapeutic considerations for these diseases during pregnancy were reviewed, but the survey did not test any new treatments.
Protozoan infections are not restricted to tropical countries and are difficult or impossible to treat with currently available drugs. The antiprotozoal drug targets are limited, which has had deleterious effects on translational studies for designing efficient drugs. The immune response in most protozoan infections is not sufficiently effective for complete destruction of the parasite, ensuring its survival and allowing infections to persist throughout the host's life. Despite massive amounts of study on parasite physiology and biochemistry, pharmacotherapy for any of these diseases still depends on older, generally non-specific medications with prolonged treatments and serious adverse effects. What is still missing is not a single cure but sustained funding for innovative drug development, better trial designs that account for the complex life cycles and chronic nature of these infections, and patient stratification to identify who might benefit from the limited options available.
Evidence
Retrieved by DeepSearch across 234,678,978 indexed works and resolved on OpenAlex — ranked by citations, including the results that did not work.
The Open Medicinal Chemistry Journal · 2011 · 48 citations · open access
Editorial - Drug Development to Protozoan Diseases
AbstractThe diseases caused by protozoan parasite are responsible for considerable mortality and morbidity, affecting more than 500 million of people in the world. The epidemiological control of protozoan is unsatisfactory due to difficulties of vector and reservoir control; while the progress in the development of vaccine tends to be slow and arduous. Currently, the chemotherapy remains essential component of both clinical management and disease control programmer in endemic areas. The drugs in use as anti-protozoan agents were discovered over 50 years and a number of factors limit their utility such as: high cost, poor compliance, drug resistance, low efficacy and poor safety. In the recent years, the searches about the development of new drugs against protozoa parasite have been increased. This special issue of The Open Medicinal Chemistry Journal will present some of developments in this field with the aim to shown the significant advances in the discovery of new anti-protozoan drugs.
Therapy for Common Parasitic Diseases in Pregnancy in the United States: A Review and a Survey of Obstetrician/Gynecologists??? Level of Knowledge About These Diseases
AbstractUNLABELLED: A number of food- and waterborne parasitic diseases that are common in the United States can adversely impact women during pregnancy. Therapeutic considerations during pregnancy for these diseases are reviewed. Also, the level of knowledge of obstetrician-gynecologists about diagnosis and treatment of these diseases (toxoplasmosis, cryptosporidiosis, giardiasis, amebiasis, cyclosporiasis, trichinellosis, ascariasis, and taeniasis) was estimated by means of a questionnaire developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG). Of the 1200 obstetrician-gynecologists surveyed, 521 (43%) responded. In general, respondents gave correct answers to questions about toxoplasmosis, but for other illnesses responses, it varied. For example, most (61.4%) respondents gave incorrect answers about treatment of cryptosporidiosis in pregnancy, and many (41.2%) respondents incorrectly identified metronidazole as the safest treatment for giardiasis in the first trimester of pregnancy. Although knowledge among obstetrician-gynecologists about toxoplasmosis is good, there is a wide variation in knowledge about other common food- and waterborne parasitic diseases that are likely to be encountered in the United States. Therapeutic considerations for these diseases during pregnancy are discussed. TARGET AUDIENCE: Obstetricians & Gynecologists, Family Physicians. LEARNING OBJECTIVES: After completion of this article, the reader should be able to list the various common protozoal diseases, to outline the clinical manifestations as well as route of spread for each of the protozoal diseases, and to outline potential therapies for each of the protozoal diseases.
Expert Opinion on Therapeutic Patents · 2023 · 13 citations
The management of<i>Babesia</i>, amoeba and other zoonotic diseases provoked by protozoa
AbstractIntroduction There are 12 protozoan genera that provoke zoonotic disease in humans and animals. We discuss the most common ones with a highlight on Babesia spp and Entamoeba histolytica, also mentioning Toxoplasma gondii, Trypanosoma cruzi, and Leishmania spp.Areas covered The complex life cycle of pathogenic protozoans is deeply understood but this did not contribute to the discovery of new drugs. The clinical armamentarium is poor and includes antiinfectives originally proposed as antibacterial (azithromycin, clindamycin, paromomycin, sulfadrugs), antifungals (amphotericin B), or they are outdated compounds with poor efficacy and many side effects (nitroazoles, antimonials, etc.). Few patents and innovative ideas are available.Expert opinion Protozoan diseases are not restricted to tropical countries and are difficult or impossible to treat with currently available drugs, which are limited and restricted to a low number of clinical classes. The antiprotozoal drug targets are also limited, and this had deleterious effects on translational studies for designing efficient antiprotozoal drugs. There is a stringent need for innovative approaches to tackle these problems.
Toxoplasmosis in Livestock and Pet Animals in Slovakia
AbstractParasitic pathogenic protozoa largely parasitize intracellularly, the course of these infections is acute, often cause the death. On the other hand, they can progress subclinically. The latent respectively chronic stage can follow the acute form and infections can persist throughout the whole life of the host. The course of the disease mostly depends also on the pathological agents. They stimulate the innate and adaptive immune response of the host. In mostly protozoan infections the immune response is not so sufficiently effective for a complete destruction of the parasite. This situation ensures the survival of the parasite and it is the characteristic feature for mostly protozoan infections.
Forum on Immunopathological Diseases and Therapeutics · 2011 · 2 citations
Photosensitized Inactivation of Protozoa Pathogenic Agents of Water- and Vector-Borne Diseases
AbstractSeveral protozoa are recognized etiological agents of dangerous water- and vector-borne diseases, and some of them are among the most dangerous and deadly of human pathogens. Diseases such as amoebiasis, leishmaniasis, trypanosomiasis, and malaria are among the most fatal infections for humans. Despite major advances in medicine in the last century, infectious diseases continue to present enormous global health problems. Antibiotic therapy for the infections caused by pathogenic protozoa is generally empirical, and patient recovery is often problematic, but some forms of combination therapy have proven more successful than single-drug therapies. New approaches that are effective, affordable, and widely applicable and that are not susceptible to resistance are urgently needed. The effectiveness of antimicrobial photodynamic therapy (PDT) as a novel mode of treating some diseases caused by eukaryotic microorganisms has been demonstrated against some protozoan pathogenic species. PDTs offer alternative approaches in the medical and environmental control of pathogenic agents as well as the sterilization of blood products.
Greater South Information System · 2011 · 0 citations · open access
Drug Development to Protozoan Diseases
AbstractThe diseases caused by protozoan parasite are responsible for considerable mortality and morbidity, affecting more than 500 million of people in the world.The epidemiological control of protozoan is unsatisfactory due to difficulties of vector and reservoir control; while the progress in the development of vaccine tends to be slow and arduous.Currently, the chemotherapy remains essential component of both clinical management and disease control programmer in endemic areas.The drugs in use as anti-protozoan agents were discovered over 50 years and a number of factors limit their utility such as: high cost, poor compliance, drug resistance, low efficacy and poor safety.In the recent years, the searches about the development of new drugs against protozoa parasite have been increased.This special issue of The Open Medicinal Chemistry Journal will present some of developments in this field with the aim to shown the significant advances in the discovery of new anti-protozoan drugs
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) · 2024 · 0 citations · open access
Chapter No. 12 ZOONOSIS UNVEILED: EXPLORING PHARMACOLOGICAL APPROACHES TO PROTOZOAL DISEASE CONTROL
AbstractProtozoal parasitic infections have significant social, health and economic aspects of life, particularly in tropical areas of world. Protozoan parasite-related diseases impact around 500 million humans globally and cause significant morbidity and mortality. Protozoan epidemiology remains suboptimal because of challenges in controlling the vector and reservoir, while vaccine development is challenging and slow. The present antiprotozoal drugs are toxic and have drug resistance; the impact of protozoal infections is rising worldwide and is being made worse by the lack of potent drugs. Researchers are looking for novel drugs to combat protozoan parasites because of limitations in current treatment approaches. Chemotherapy remains a crucial part of the disease control program and clinical treatment in endemic areas worldwide. Considering the poorest regions of the world are where parasitic infections are most common, pharmaceutical companies have historically shown little enthusiasm in developing new drugs. But the development of drug resistance, and more or less obvious harmful side effects hinder the efficacy of the anti-parasitic drugs that are currently available in the market. The advancements in the discipline of drug development to tackle six major protozoal parasitic diseases, including drug repurposed for Malaria, Toxoplasmosis, Giardiasis, Trichomoniasis, Trypanosomiasis, and Leishmaniasis are highlighted. This chapter discusses various approaches using distinctive features of parasites physiology, and biochemistry to pick the most potential molecular targets for development of drugs. Despite the massive amount of study on the aforementioned features, pharmacotherapy of any of these protozoal diseases seems unknown. It depends on older and generally non-specific medications that, in certain situations, have prolonged treatments and serious adverse effects. In this chapter, we summarize the most recent advancements in the disciplines of RNA interference, antimicrobial peptides, and topoisomerase and protease inhibitors.
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) · 2025 · 0 citations · open access
nitazoxanide 500 mg
AbstractTreatment includes hydration anti-diarrheal drugs and antiparasitic medications like Nizonide 500mg and Nitazoxanide 500 mg. https://publicpill.com/shop/nizonide-500mg-tablet-nitazoxanide/ Nitazoxanide 500 is an antiparasitic and antiviral medication used to treat certain infections caused by parasites and viruses. nitazoxanida 500 mg is particularly effective against conditions like diarrhea caused by protozoa and viral gastroenteritis. Common treatments for diarrhea and worm infections nizonide o syrup for worm infections and diarrhea.
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.
