DeCure's autonomous Psychiatry AI scientist is researching a drug-repurposing hypothesis for Tourette syndrome — screening already-approved drugs against its 47-gene Open Targets disease module to publish open-access research. Research is fast; the path to publication is funded in milestone stages.
Disease moduleTourette syndrome maps to a 47-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 tourette syndrome 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
carbonic anhydrase 2 (CA2) — CA2 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 hydroxymercurydrag to rotate · scroll to zoom
RCSB Protein Data Bank · entry 3K34 · 0.9 Å · ligand 4-(HYDROXYMERCURY)BENZOIC ACID (HGB). Experimental structure, not a prediction.
What the evidence adds up to
A 1995 linkage study of a single large British family with Tourette’s syndrome, chronic motor tics, and obsessive-compulsive behaviour found no evidence that genetic variation in the serotonin 5-HT1A receptor gene or the tryptophan oxygenase gene causes susceptibility to the disorder. Those two candidate genes were eliminated from having a role in the pathophysiology of Tourette’s syndrome in that kindred.
A 2015 review of 400 consecutive Tourette syndrome patients seen over ten years reported that 255 (64%) were prescribed medication. The most commonly prescribed drugs were aripiprazole (64% of medicated patients), clonidine (40%), risperidone (30%), and sulpiride (29%). The number of different drugs tried per patient ranged from one (155 patients) to eight (one patient). The authors noted that the data illustrate the difficulty in drug treatment of tics and suggest that even after trials of several agents there is potential benefit in trying further options.
A 1998 review summarised that Tourette syndrome is a relatively common childhood-onset disorder causing tics and behavioural disturbances. It stated that much had been learned about manifestations and pathogenesis, leading to effective therapies and suggesting new therapeutic possibilities, but that much remained to be learned about the genetics and neurobiology of the disorder.
What is still missing is a clear genetic or neurobiological target for drug repurposing. The 1995 study eliminated two serotonergic candidate genes in one family, but the genetics of the broader population remain unresolved. The 2015 prescribing data show that serial drug trials are common and that no single agent works for most patients, but the study did not report response rates or survival on any drug, only the number of agents tried. No randomised controlled trial of a repurposed drug was described. Money for large, stratified trials that can identify which patients might benefit from which existing drug is lacking.
Evidence
Retrieved by DeepSearch across 234,678,978 indexed works and resolved on OpenAlex — ranked by citations, including the results that did not work.
American Journal of Psychiatry · 1995 · 56 citations
Exclusion of the 5-HT1A serotonin neuroreceptor and tryptophan oxygenase genes in a large British kindred multiply affected with Tourette's syndrome, chronic motor tics, and obsessive-compulsive behavior
AbstractOBJECTIVE: Previous studies have demonstrated a relationship between obsessive-compulsive disorder or behavior and Gilles de la Tourette syndrome. It has been hypothesized that the serotonergic system is implicated in the etiology of obsessive-compulsive disorder. Therefore, the authors investigated whether genetic variation in a serotonergic receptor and a modifying enzyme were associated with Tourette's syndrome. METHOD: A linkage analysis using DNA and blood group markers was carried out in a large British kindred multiply affected with Tourette's syndrome, chronic motor tics, and obsessive-compulsive behavior. RESULTS: There was no evidence to support the hypothesis that genetic variation in the serotonin 5-HT1A receptor and tryptophan oxygenase genes causes susceptibility to Tourette's syndrome and chronic multiple tics. CONCLUSIONS: The results eliminate two possible candidate genes from having a role in the pathophysiology of Tourette's syndrome.
Human Psychopharmacology Clinical and Experimental · 2015 · 28 citations
Serial pharmacological prescribing practices for tic management in Tourette syndrome
AbstractPharmacological treatments for Tourette syndrome (TS) vary in efficacy between different patients. The evidence base is limited as even high quality controlled studies tend to be of relatively short duration which may lose relevance in clinical usage. Patients are frequently treated with serial agents in the search for efficacy and tolerability. The success of this strategy has not been previously documented. We examined 400 consecutive TS patients seen over a 10-year period, some with a longer prior history in other clinics; 255/400 (64%) were prescribed medication. We present this heterogeneous cohort in terms of the number of drugs they had tried, and as a proxy measure of some benefit of the last drug used, whether it had been prescribed under our supervision for ≥ 5 months. The most commonly prescribed medications were aripiprazole (64%), clonidine (40%), risperidone (30%) and sulpiride (29%) with changes in prescribing practises over the period examined. The number of different drugs tried were one (n = 155), two (n = 69), three (n = 36), four (n = 14), five (n = 15), six (n = 5), seven (n = 2) and eight (n = 1). The data illustrate the difficulty in drug treatment of tics and suggest that even after trials of several agents there is potential benefit in trying further options.
Revista médica de Chile · 2007 · 20 citations · open access
Aripiprazole en el tratamiento sintomático del síndrome de Gilíes de la Tourette (enfermedad de los tics)
AbstractBACKGROUND: Tourette syndrome is a neuropsychiatric disorder characterized by motor and vocal tics, attentional deficit, poor control of impulses and obsessive compulsive disorder. Pharmacological treatment is often disappointing due to partial response and frequent poor tolerance to neuroleptic drugs which are otherwise the most effective therapy so far. AIM: To report a lasting improvement obtained with a new drug, aripiprazole that acts modulating both dopaminergic and serotoninergic neurotransmission. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Ten patients refractory to their usual therapy, aged 10 to 35 years, were switched to aripiprazole in an open trial. RESULTS: Nine of the 10 patients showed a significant response assessed by the Yale severity tics rating scale and the clinical global impression scale (p <0.01). No relevant adverse effects were observed. CONCLUSIONS: Aripiprazole may be a good pharmacological option for patients with Tourette syndrome.
AbstractBACKGROUND- Tourette syndrome has become increasingly recognized as a relatively common disorder with onset in childhood that not only causes abnormal movements (tics), but also may cause significant behavioral disturbances. REVIEW SUMMARY- This article reviews the current knowledge of the clinical phenomenology, epidemiology, patho-genesis, and treatment of Tourette syndrome. CONCLUSION- Much has been learned about the manifestations and pathogenesis of Tourette syndrome, leading to effective therapies and suggesting new therapeutic possibilities. Nonetheless, there is still much to be learned about the genetics and neurobiology of this multifaceted and perplexing disorder.
Anesthesia considerations in surgical deep brain stimulation for Tourette syndrome management
AbstractTourette’s syndrome (TS) is a neuro-behavioral disease associated by phonic and motor tics with a high frequency of psychiatric co-morbidities. For these cases, deep brain stimulation (DBS) is a developing neuro-modulated treatment option since the first report on a successful surgery in 1999. A male thirty-one years old (77 kg, 178 cm) with diagnosis of Gilles De La Tourette syndrome admitted to neurosurgery ward. His medication included Aripiprazole, pimozide, buspirone, clomipramine, citalopram, phenytoin, Desmopressin and Lithium. The patient underwent implanting DBS (Deep Brain Stimulator) surgery and battery implantation in two steps with two weeks interval. General anesthesia with considerations and according to behavior of disease and drug interactions was performed. The cause and symptoms may be due to central dopaminergic hyperactivity or anomalous dopamine neurotransmission and interventions and anesthesia should be done considering these abnormalities.
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.
