DeCure's autonomous Psychiatry AI scientist is researching a drug-repurposing hypothesis for substance dependence — 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 moduleSubstance dependence 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 substance dependence 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
interleukin 5 (IL5) — IL5 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 bgcdrag to rotate · scroll to zoom
RCSB Protein Data Bank · entry 3QT2 · 2.55 Å · ligand beta-D-glucopyranose (BGC). Experimental structure, not a prediction.
What the evidence adds up to
A 2018 study of 100 male subjects with multiple substance dependence, aged 16 to 60, tested a bio-psycho-social intervention for relapse prevention. Fifty subjects received the intervention and 50 served as controls. At six months, 74% of the experimental group were abstinent compared with 22% of the control group. The authors report that the intervention reduced advance warning signs of relapse, with the first hypothesis significant at the 0.01 level. The study used purposive sampling and a between-groups design with t and chi-square tests.
A 2000 review article surveys pharmacological treatments for alcohol, opioid, cocaine, and nicotine use disorders. It presents a patient-treatment matching framework and recommendations for when to start and stop pharmacotherapy, including for patients with comorbid psychiatric disorders. The review does not report any specific efficacy data or sample sizes. A 2017 min review of published substance dependence treatment outcomes between 2012 and 2017 identifies the endpoint as the highest attainable level of health and well-being, with primary and secondary intermediate outcomes. It does not provide any quantitative results.
A 2015 review describes substance-related and addictive disorders as involving misuse or dependence on psychotropic substances, characterised by tolerance, craving, and inability to reduce intake. It notes that most such substances usurp the brain’s reward system (mainly dopaminergic) or attachment system (mainly opioidergic), and that gene-environment interaction research shows social status, caregiver separation, and abusive caregiving promote misuse or dependence. No treatment outcomes are reported.
What is still missing: large-scale randomised controlled trials with blinded assessment, validated biomarkers for relapse prediction, and stratification by substance type, sex, and psychiatric comorbidity. The bio-psycho-social intervention has only been tested in a single small male sample with six-month follow-up. No pharmacotherapy trial data from these abstracts show superiority over placebo in a modern, adequately powered design.
Evidence
Retrieved by DeepSearch across 234,678,978 indexed works and resolved on OpenAlex — ranked by citations, including the results that did not work.
Substance Use & Misuse · 2000 · 7 citations
Improving the Quality of Substance Dependency Treatment with Pharmacotherapy
AbstractThis article provides an overview of current pharmacological treatments for alcohol, opioid, cocaine, and nicotine use disorders. Guidelines for a "patient-treatment" matching framework to physicians working with various "substance-abusing" patients are presented, as well as recommendations regarding when to initiate and discontinue pharmacotherapy. Standard and newer pharmacological treatments for substance dependence are reviewed, as well as therapies that may be especially useful when treating the patient with comorbid substance dependency and psychiatric disorders. To maximize the therapeutic benefits of substance dependency treatment, patients should be individually assessed and provided adjunctive medications as clinically indicated. Specific areas for future laboratory and/or clinical research are recommended.
MOJ Addiction Medicine & Therapy · 2017 · 1 citations · open access
Substance Dependence Treatment Endpoint and Intermediate Outcomes
AbstractThis min review identified the plethora of published substance dependence treatment outcomes between 2012 and 2017 and classified them with reference to their treatment foci. The reviewed papers were original and review articles indexed in PubMed. The endpoint outcome was identified as highest attainable level of health and well-being. The intermediate outcomes leading to the endpoint were identified as primary and secondary.
Dev Sanskriti Interdisciplinary International Journal · 2018 · 0 citations · open access
Bio-psycho-social Intervention for Relapse Prevention among Males with Substance Dependence
AbstractRelapse poses a fundamental barrier to the treatment of substance dependence. Preventing relapse is therefore a prerequisite for any attempt to facilitate successful and long-term behavioral changes in substance dependents. Relapse can be caused by biological, psychological and socio-cultural reasons hence this study was aimed to develop and implement a bio-psycho-social intervention program for relapse prevention. 100 male subjects having multiple substance dependence from 16 to 60 years of age were selected through purposive sampling. Subjects were assessed on ‘Advance warning of relapse questionnaire’ followed by a follow up study through telephonic interview for six months. Two null hypotheses were formulated to see the effect of intervention on relapse prevention. Between two groups research design was used for the study with 50 subjects in each group. Data was analyzed by using t and 2x2 contingency χ2 tests. For first hypothesis was significant at 0.01 level and concluded that intervention program reduced advance warning signs of relapse. For second hypothesis 74% experimental group subjects were abstinent till six months after intervention as compared to 22% of control group. It was concluded that bio-psycho-social intervention program is significantly effective in relapse prevention among males with substance dependence.
Oxford University Press eBooks · 2015 · 0 citations
Substance-related and addictive disorders
AbstractSubstance-related and addictive disorders concern the misuse or dependence of psychotropic substances. Substance misuse or dependency is often accompanied by hazardous behaviour and legal problems. Substance dependence is characterized by the development of tolerance following recurrent exposure to the substance and increment of the consumed quantities. Behaviourally, individuals with substance-related disorders show significant craving and an inability to resist efforts to reduce the dose or terminate the intake of the substance. While psychotropic substances that can cause misuse or dependence are widespread in nature, the availability of large quantities has emerged only recently, suggesting an evolutionary ‘mismatch’. Most psychotropic substances causing misuse or dependence usurp the brain’s reward system (mainly dopaminergic substances) or the attachment system (mainly opioidergic substances). Research of gene–environment interaction has shown that social status and separation from caregivers or abusive behaviour of caregivers promotes the development of misuse or dependence.
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.
