DeCure's autonomous Rare AI scientist is researching a drug-repurposing hypothesis for ulcer of lower limb — screening already-approved drugs against its 10-gene Open Targets disease module to publish open-access research. Research is fast; the path to publication is funded in milestone stages.
Disease moduleUlcer of lower limb maps to a 10-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 ulcer of lower limb 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
phosphoglycerate dehydrogenase (PHGDH) — PHGDH 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 1~{r}drag to rotate · scroll to zoom
RCSB Protein Data Bank · entry 6RJ3 · 1.42 Å · ligand 4-[(1~{R})-1-[(2-methyl-5-phenyl-pyrazol-3-yl)carbonylamino]ethyl]benzoic acid (K58). Experimental structure, not a prediction.
What the evidence adds up to
Most chronic leg ulcers (90 to 95%) are caused by incompetence of the deep venous system or the perforators of the lower leg. Superficial venous incompetence does not produce necrotic skin ulcers. The primary cause is a marked increase in pressure in the deep veins during walking, which is transmitted to skin vessels through ankle perforators. Intracapillary pressure rises tremendously, capillaries dilate and become tortuous, and blood elements leak through the capillary wall to form a microedema that creates a nutritional block between capillaries and skin cells. This microedema is described as the main cause of venous leg ulcer development.
A case study from 2000 describes a patient undergoing drug rehabilitation whose leg ulceration developed directly from previous intravenous drug use. The report states that with correct assessment and management, mixed aetiology ulceration can be successfully treated, but it provides no numerical outcomes, sample size, or controlled data.
Lower limb ulcers have a prevalence of 0.8 to 2.2 per 1000 population, doubling in incidence in people over 65, according to a 2022 session summary from the Wounds Canada 2021 National Conference. The summary notes that ulcers significantly impact quality of life and are costly to treat, and that many affected individuals have mixed aetiology ulcers, making diagnosis and therapy challenging. No specific drug treatments, response rates, or survival data are reported in any of these abstracts.
What is still missing are randomised controlled trials that stratify patients by ulcer aetiology (venous, arterial, mixed, or drug-related), standardised outcome measures for healing and recurrence, and dedicated funding for such trials. Without these, the claim that mixed aetiology ulcers can be successfully treated remains anecdotal.
Evidence
Retrieved by DeepSearch across 234,678,978 indexed works and resolved on OpenAlex — ranked by citations, including the results that did not work.
Vascular Surgery · 1979 · 107 citations
Local Microcirculation in Chronic Venous Incompetence and Leg Ulcers
AbstractMost chronic leg ulcers (90 to 95%) are caused by incompetence of the deep venous system and/or the perforators of the lower leg. Superficial venous incompetence does not give rise to necrotic skin ulcers. The primary cause of venous leg ulcers is the marked increase in pressure that builds up in the deep veins of the lower leg during walking. This pressure is transformed to the skin vessels through the ankle perforators, out to the nutritional vascular bed of the skin. The intracapillary pressure increases tremendously and this causes the capillaries to dilate and become tortuous. The blood elements leak out through the capillary wall into the surrounding tissue and form a specific microedema, which gives rise to an effective nutritional block between the capillaries and the skin cells. This microedema is most probably the main cause of the development of venous leg ulcers.
Treating mixed aetiology ulcers in a man undergoing drug rehabilitation
AbstractLower leg ulceration is a condition which is generally associated with the older population; however, medical conditions and social circumstances can place some clients at increased risk. This case study looks at the treatment of a patient undergoing drug rehabilitation whose leg ulceration developed as a direct result of his previous intravenous habit. It demonstrates that with correct assessment and management mixed aetiology ulceration can be successfully treated.
Current and emerging treatments for people living with lower limb ulcers: Session summary
AbstractLower limb ulcers (LLUs) are common, with a prevalence of 0.8 to 2.2 patients per 1000 population, doubling in incidence in people aged over 65. Lower limb ulcers significantly impact an affected individual’s quality of life and are costly to treat. Diagnosing the cause of the ulcer is critical to successful management. Many affected individuals have ulcers with mixed etiology, which makes diagnosis and therapy challenging. (Session summary from Wounds Canada 2021 National Conference.)
International Journal of Advanced Research · 2024 · 0 citations · open access
A STUDY OF PREVALENCE, CLINICAL PRESENTATION AND MANAGEMENT OF LOWER LIMB ULCERS AT A TERTIARY HOSPITAL
AbstractBackground: Lower limb ulcers are debilitating and painful, greatly reducing patients quality of life. These ulcers are often difficult to treat. The most common aetiologies for lower limb ulcers are venous, arterial, mixed venous and arterial, diabetic and pressure ulcers. However, atypical wounds comprise approximately 20% of chronic wounds and should be kept in mind during differential diagnosis.The successful ulcer management depends upon the accurate diagnosis and treatment of the underlying cause, and it often needs a multidisciplinary approach. Methods: This prospective cross-sectional study conductedin Department of General Surgery atBasaveshwara Teaching and General Hospital, Attached to Mahadevappa Rampure Medical College, Kalaburagi. The study was conducted during the period from June 2022 to December 2023 which included 97 patients presenting withlower limb ulcers and admitted in surgical wards of our hospital. Results: Most of the patients were engaged in agriculture (24%) followed by business (23%) and service (14%). 47.5% of the patients had habit of smoking,alcohol consumption and tobacco chewing. Most of the ulcers were diabetic (36.1%) followed by venous (22.6%) (Z=2.17 p=0). Only 4.1% and 3.1% were malignant and trophic ulcers. Peripheral neuropathy (26.8%) was the most common cause of ulcer followed by venous hypertension (24.7%).In most of the cases, debridement with dressing (32.9%) and Debreidment+dressing+skin grafting (19.6%) was done. At the end of study period, 90 ulcers were healed, 4 were disease free, 2 had recurrence and 1 patient died. Conclusion:A comprehensive assessment of patients general status, personal habits, skin, vascular status, limb, ulcer characteristics are required to determine the etiology and to formulate effective treatment plan. Thus, the study of various cases of lower limb ulcers arouses lot of interest and is mind boggling as far as the treatment of these cases are concerned. With the availability of arsenal of investigation, wide range of antibiotics and with ever improving dressing material, there is certainly a great improvement in treatment of lower limb ulcers. Education and training are vital for all those involved in caring of patients with ulcer.
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.
