DeCure's autonomous Rare AI scientist is researching a drug-repurposing hypothesis for spermatogenic failure 72 — 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 moduleSpermatogenic failure 72 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 spermatogenic failure 72 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
WD repeat domain 19 (WDR19) — WDR19 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 apo structuredrag to rotate · scroll to zoom
RCSB Protein Data Bank · entry 8BBG · 3.5 Å · ligand none (apo structure). Experimental structure, not a prediction.
What the evidence adds up to
Medical therapy for men with primary spermatogenic failure remains largely ineffective, according to a 2011 review. Treatment has been attempted with hormones and nutritional supplements including antioxidants, but no treatment has consistently demonstrated efficacy, and it has not been possible to reliably identify patients likely to benefit. The review states that idiopathic spermatogenic failure likely results from multiple discrete defects in sperm production that are as yet unidentified, and that empiric medical therapy has been largely replaced by assisted reproductive techniques.
Two 1988 papers report on a series of 8879 consecutive vasectomies performed by one physician over 24 years, with a subgroup of 5331 men who returned for at least two postoperative semen tests used for follow-up analysis. There were 97 failures of all types, including 32 (0.60%) early and overt failures and 61 (1.14%) technical failures involving persistence of small numbers of spermatozoa, possibly of no significance. Four (0.08%) late overt failures were seen, each discovered as a result of a pregnancy occurring at least four years after two azoospermic test results. Four failures were due to missed vasa deferentia, and the remainder were attributed to recanalisation.
The 2011 review notes that a better understanding of the discrete defects in sperm production will yield more effective treatment options and appropriate triage of patients to specific therapeutic regimens. It suggests that both medical therapy and assisted reproductive techniques could play a role, perhaps as combination therapy, but provides no data from controlled trials demonstrating such benefit. The vasectomy papers conclude that whether improved and reproducible failure rates can be consistently obtained by other techniques is not yet clear.
What is still missing is a clear identification of the multiple discrete molecular defects underlying idiopathic spermatogenic failure, which would allow patient stratification and targeted therapy. No adequately powered, randomised controlled trials of any drug for primary spermatogenic failure have shown consistent, reproducible improvement in sperm production or pregnancy rates. Funding for such trials and for the basic biology needed to define patient subgroups remains insufficient.
Evidence
Retrieved by DeepSearch across 234,678,978 indexed works and resolved on OpenAlex — ranked by citations, including the results that did not work.
Asian Journal of Andrology · 2011 · 57 citations · open access
Medical therapy for spermatogenic failure
AbstractMedical treatment of men with primary spermatogenic failure remains largely ineffective in contrast to those with secondary testicular failure. Treatment has been attempted with a multitude of agents ranging from hormones to nutritional supplements (antioxidants). While some studies have demonstrated benefit to some treatments, no treatments have consistently demonstrated efficacy nor has it been possible to reliably identify patients likely to benefit. Idiopathic spermatogenic failure likely results from multiple discrete defects in sperm production that are as yet unidentified. A better understanding of these defects will yield more effective treatment options and appropriate triage of patients to specific therapeutic regimens. This review focuses on the rationale and current evidence for hormonal and antioxidant therapy in medical treatment of male infertility, spermatogenic failure in particular. Although empiric medical therapy for spermatogenic failure has been largely replaced by assisted reproductive techniques, both treatment modalities could play a role, perhaps as combination therapy.
The lurking sperm. A review of failures in 8879 vasectomies performed by one physician
AbstractVasectomy techniques and failure rates vary among surgeons, and the criteria for failure are not often clearly defined. To help establish a yardstick for comparative purposes, a series of 8879 consecutive vasectomies performed with uniform technique over 24 years was reviewed. A subgroup of 5331 men who had returned for at least two postoperative semen tests--the study group--was used for follow-up analysis. Failures were defined as early or late and also were categorized as overt or technical according to the numbers, motility, or persistence of the remaining spermatozoa. There were 97 failures of all types, including 32 (0.60%) early and overt failures and 61 (1.14%) technical failures that involved the persistence of small numbers of spermatozoa, possibly of no significance. Four (0.08%) late overt failures were also seen; each of these was discovered as a result of a pregnancy, and each occurred at least four years after two azoospermic test results. Of the 97 failures, four were recognized as due to missed vasa deferentia, and the remainder were attributed to recanalization. Whether improved and reproducible failure rates can be consistently obtained by other techniques is not yet clear.
AbstractVasectomy techniques and failure rates vary among surgeons, and the criteria for failure are not often clearly defined. To help establish a yardstick for comparative purposes, a series of 8879 consecutive vasectomies performed with uniform technique over 24 years was reviewed. A subgroup of 5331 men who had returned for at least two postoperative semen tests—the<i>study</i>group—was used for follow-up analysis. Failures were defined as<i>early</i>or<i>late</i>and also were categorized as overt or<i>technical</i>according to the numbers, motility, or persistence of the remaining spermatozoa. There were 97 failures of all types, including 32 (0.60%) early and overt failures and 61 (1.14%) technical failures that involved the persistence of small numbers of spermatozoa, possibly of no significance. Four (0.08%) late overt failures were also seen; each of these was discovered as a result of a pregnancy, and each occurred at least four years after two azoospermic test results. Of the 97 failures, four were recognized as due to missed vasa deferentia, and the remainder were attributed to recanalization. Whether improved and reproducible failure rates can be consistently obtained by other techniques is not yet clear. (<i>JAMA</i>1988;259:3142-3144)
Journal of Evolution of Medical and Dental Sciences · 2018 · 2 citations · open access
EVALUATION OF THE EFFECTS OF CAPSULES CONTAINING TRIBULUS TERRESTRIS EXTRACT AND LCARNITINE ON TREATMENT OF OLIGOSPERMIA IN MALES
AbstractInfertility is defined as failure to achieve pregnancy after one year of unprotected sexual intercourse. Male infertility is one of the most challenging problems in andrology. The common cause of male infertility is related to disorders in sperm production. In this study for the first time, effect of combination Tribulus terrestris extract and L-carnitine on sperm parameters of infertile men were reviewed.
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.
