DeCure's autonomous Respiratory AI scientist is researching a drug-repurposing hypothesis for respiratory failure — screening already-approved drugs against its 40-gene Open Targets disease module to publish open-access research. Research is fast; the path to publication is funded in milestone stages.
Disease moduleRespiratory failure maps to a 40-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 respiratory failure 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
ABO, alpha 1-3-N-acetylgalactosaminyltransferase and alpha 1-3-galactosyltransferase (ABO) — ABO 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 6-deoxy-alpha-l-galactopyranosyldrag to rotate · scroll to zoom
RCSB Protein Data Bank · entry 4Y63 · 1.3 Å · ligand octyl 2-O-(6-deoxy-alpha-L-galactopyranosyl)-beta-D-galactopyranoside (BHE). Experimental structure, not a prediction.
What the evidence adds up to
Management of respiratory failure in patients with asthma relies on inhaled albuterol sulfate, oxygen, and systemic corticosteroids as mainstays of acute drug care; other data support inhaled steroids, ipratropium bromide, magnesium sulfate, theophylline, and heliox. Assisted ventilation by face mask or endotracheal tube may be required in refractory patients. In intubated patients, a ventilatory strategy that prolongs exhalation time and accepts hypercapnia minimises lung hyperinflation and generally results in a good outcome. Acute asthma often represents failure of outpatient management.
A 2006 survey of UK intensive care units found that management of severe respiratory failure varies between ICUs and may not necessarily be evidence-based. The overall survival rate from respiratory failure in surgical patients has improved in recent years, but a 1995 review attributes this decrease in mortality more to better intensive evaluation and care than to any specific pharmacologic modality. Promising therapeutic interventions were described as being in early stages of evaluation.
Respiratory failure is defined as defective gas exchange due to inadequate function of the respiratory system, with failure to oxygenate blood (hypoxaemia) and/or eliminate carbon dioxide (hypercapnoea). It can develop over years (kyphoscoliosis, motor neuron disease) or minutes (acute asthma attack, pneumothorax). Chronic respiratory failure involves compensatory renal retention of bicarbonate to adjust blood pH.
No single drug has been shown in these abstracts to reverse respiratory failure across all causes. What is still missing are randomised trials that isolate the effect of any one drug on mortality in respiratory failure, consistent evidence-based protocols across ICUs, and patient stratification by aetiology (acute vs chronic, surgical vs medical) to guide treatment selection.
Evidence
Retrieved by DeepSearch across 234,678,978 indexed works and resolved on OpenAlex — ranked by citations, including the results that did not work.
Current Opinion in Pulmonary Medicine · 2000 · 12 citations
Management of respiratory failure in patients with asthma
AbstractThe goal of management of patients with respiratory failure is to restore them to a state of quiet breathing, without complication. This goal is often achieved by pharmacotherapy alone. Inhaled albuterol sulfate, oxygen, and systemic corticosteroids are mainstays of acute care drug management, whereas other data support the use of inhaled steroids, ipratropium bromide, magnesium sulfate, theophylline, and heliox. Assisted ventilation by face mask or endotracheal tube may be required in refractory patients. In intubated patients, a ventilatory strategy that prolongs exhalation time and accepts hypercapnia minimizes lung hyperinflation and generally results in a good outcome. Acute asthma often represents failure of outpatient management; key aspects of the outpatient program should be addressed in the acute care setting to help prevent recurrent attacks.
Management of severe adult respiratory failure: evidence-based?
AbstractThe management of severe respiratory failure (SRF) remains a challenging problem. With the availability of many options with variable results, the management of patients with SRF is likely to vary between different ICUs and these practices may not necessarily be evidence-based. In this study we aimed to define the respiratory and the general management of the patients with SRF, and to identify the treatment practices that are evidence-based in the surveyed ICUs in the UK.
Current Opinion in Critical Care · 1995 · 0 citations
Respiratory evaluation and support in the ICU
AbstractRespiratory evaluation and support remains one of the most important factors in determining patient outcome. The overall survival rate from respiratory failure occurring in the surgical patient has improved in recent years. This decrease in mortality is probably more a response to better intensive evaluation and care of the patient than any specific pharmacologic modality. Promising therapeutic interventions are in the early stages of being evaluated, and it is hoped that further reduction in morbidity and mortality will result from their use.
Oxford University Press eBooks · 2018 · 0 citations
ICU treatment of respiratory failure
AbstractRespiratory failure is a syndrome characterized by defective gas exchange due to inadequate function of the respiratory system. There is a failure to oxygenate blood (hypoxaemia) and/or eliminate carbon dioxide (hypercapnoea). Respiratory failure can develop over years when it is due to conditions such as kyphoscoliosis or motor neuron disease, or minutes in the case of an acute asthma attack or pneumothorax. In this context, respiratory failure is often called acute (e.g. asthma), chronic (e.g. kyphoscoliosis), or acute on chronic (kyphoscoliosis complicated by pneumonia). Chronic respiratory failure is characterized by compensatory mechanisms which aim to adjust the pH of the blood back to the normal physiological range and involve the retention of bicarbonate by the kidney. This topic covers the etiology of respiratory failure as well as signs, symptoms, diagnosis, investigations, prognosis, and 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.
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.
