DeCure's autonomous Rare AI scientist is researching a drug-repurposing hypothesis for vestibular neuronitis — screening already-approved drugs against its 3-gene Open Targets disease module to publish open-access research. Research is fast; the path to publication is funded in milestone stages.
Disease moduleVestibular neuronitis maps to a 3-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 vestibular neuronitis 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
nuclear receptor subfamily 3 group C member 1 (NR3C1) — NR3C1 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 adpdrag to rotate · scroll to zoom
RCSB Protein Data Bank · entry 7KW7 · 3.57 Å · ligand ADENOSINE-5'-DIPHOSPHATE (ADP). Experimental structure, not a prediction.
What the evidence adds up to
In a 2011 prospective case series with historic controls, 33 patients given oral prednisolone 50 mg daily for five days (with tapering over another five days, or intravenous betamethasone if nauseated) within three days of symptom onset were compared with two untreated control groups of 41 and 67 patients. The initial degree of vestibular paresis on caloric testing did not differ between groups. At 12 months, the treatment group had a mean paresis of 22.8% versus 47.2% in controls (p = 0.0003), and a greater mean improvement of 53.4% versus 35.6% (p = 0.002). 70% of treated patients had a normal caloric test result at follow-up compared with 34% of controls. Mean hospital stay was shorter in the treatment group: 1.8 versus 3.0 days (p = 0.001).
A 1993 study of 34 steroid-treated patients compared with 77 untreated patients found no relation between steroid use and changes in subjective dizziness. Steroid therapy was associated with faster disappearance of spontaneous nystagmus in the early recovery stage. Canal paralysis recovered significantly with steroid treatment, and the effect was more pronounced in cases with only slight or moderate paralysis at onset. The authors argued that steroid therapy was effective for recovery of vestibular function in vestibular neuronitis.
A 2015 report from a Japanese nationwide survey described a computed galvanic body-sway test in 10 patients with vestibular neuronitis. A peculiar "slow and sluggish" pattern was observed initially. Over an observation period of 6 months to 6 years (average 33 months), 7 patients showed improvement of this abnormal pattern toward the pattern of the healthy side. The other 3 patients, observed for 1 month to 1 year (average 5.3 months), showed no improvement. The authors suggested that conductivity of the affected vestibular nerve has an increasing chance for recovery over time.
A separate 1993 Japanese epidemiological survey of 619 patients, including 74 aged patients, reported no bilateral cases, a relatively high recurrence rate in the elderly, and that about 10% of elderly patients had a preceding upper respiratory tract infection (a lower rate than in younger patients). Hypertension was the most common complication. Among 28 elderly patients who had a repeat caloric test, 23 still showed canal paresis. Another 1993 study of 43 cases followed for more than 10 years after onset found that completed vestibular compensation could later change or remain incomplete. What is still missing is a randomised placebo-controlled trial large enough to confirm the functional benefit suggested by the 2011 study, and a clear understanding of which patients (by age, severity, or time to treatment) are most likely to recover rather than stabilise with residual deficit.
Evidence
Retrieved by DeepSearch across 234,678,978 indexed works and resolved on OpenAlex — ranked by citations, including the results that did not work.
Otology & Neurotology · 2011 · 67 citations
Treatment of Acute Vestibular Neuronitis With Glucocorticoids
AbstractOBJECTIVE: To report the effects of glucocorticoid treatment of acute vestibular neuronitis on recovery of vestibular function and length of hospital stay. STUDY DESIGN: Prospective, consecutive case series compared with historic controls. SETTING: Secondary referral academic hospital. PATIENTS: Patients with acute vestibular neuronitis. One group treated with glucocorticoids within 3 days after symptom onset (n = 33) and 2 historic untreated control groups (n = 41 and n = 67). INTERVENTIONS: Oral prednisolone 50 mg/d for 5 days with tapering of doses for the next 5 days, alternatively with intravenous betamethasone 8 mg on the first 1 to 2 days if nauseated. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Extent of unilateral vestibular paresis (%) in the caloric test at presentation and at 12 months of follow-up. Length of hospital stay (days). RESULTS: The initial vestibular paresis value did not differ between the treatment group and the control group. At follow-up, the treatment group showed a lower value (22.8% versus 47.2%, p = 0.0003) and greater improvement (53.4% versus 35.6%, p = 0.002). At follow-up, 70% of the treatment group had a normal caloric test result compared to only 34% of the control group. The mean hospital stay of the treatment group was significantly shorter than that of the control group (1.8 versus 3.0 d, p = 0.001). CONCLUSION: Glucocorticoids administered within 3 days after onset of vestibular neuronitis improves long-time recovery of vestibular function and reduces length of hospital stay.
Recovery of the Vestibular Function after Vestibular Neuronitis
AbstractWe performed steroid therapy on 34 cases with vestibular neuronitis and compared them with 77 patients not subjected to this therapy to examine the role of recovery of their vestibular function. Since no relation was noted between use of steroid and changes in subjective symptom of dizziness, the use of steroid is likely to facilitate the disappearance of spontaneous nystagmus in the early recovery stage. Canal paralysis recovered significantly by steroid and in cases of slight and moderate paralysis at the onset, recovery was more significant. Steroid therapy is argued to be effective for the recovery of vestibular function in cases of vestibular neuronitis.
Advances in oto-rhino-laryngology · 2015 · 19 citations
Vestibular Neuronitis � Its Clinical Characteristics
AbstractSeveral parts of a nationwide survey of the epidemiology of vestibular neuronitis were reported. Follow-up studies of vestibular neuronitis were made. The computed galvanic body-sway test (Yamaguchi University) obtained from 10 patients with vestibular neuronitis showed a peculiar 'slow and sluggish' pattern. In the course of the illness, this slow and sluggish pattern changed its appearance and soon resembled the pattern obtained from the opposite, healthy side. Improvement of the abnormal pattern was observed in 7 patients (observation period 6 months to 6 years, averaging 33 months). 3 other patients (observation period 1 month to 1 year, averaging 5.3 months) showed no improvement in the pattern. These findings suggest that the conductivity of the vestibular nerve affected by vestibular neuronitis has an increasing chance for recovery.
Vestibular Neuronitis in Aged Patients: Results from an Epidemiological Survey by Questionnaire in Japan
AbstractAn epidemiological survey of vestibular neuronitis in Japan was done using a questionnaire. Answer sheets were obtained from 619 patients with vestibular neuronitis. In order to evaluate data from aged patients, 74 cases were singled out. The following results were obtained: i) There was no sexual difference and no laterality of affected side; ii) There was no case of bilateral vestibular neuronitis; iii) Ten cases were reported as recurrent. Aged patients had a relatively high rate of recurrence; iv) About 10% of 74 cases had had an upper respiratory tract infection, and this rate was lower than that for patients under 65 years of age; v) Thirty-five cases had complications. Hypertension was the most common complication; vi) The caloric test was re-used in 28 cases. The continued existence of caloric CP was observed in 23 cases upon re-examination.
Vestibular Compensation in Vestibular Neuronitis: Evaluation of Positional Nystagmus and Caloric Nystagmus
AbstractWe evaluated the vestibular functions, especially for positional nystagmus and caloric nystagmus, in 43 cases of vestibular neuronitis for long periods after its onset. It is shown that in the cases of vestibular neuronitis that were studied more than 10 years after the onset of the disease, the completed vestibular compensation changed or the vestibular compensation was still incomplete.
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.
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