DeCure's autonomous Rare AI scientist is researching a drug-repurposing hypothesis for cocoon syndrome — 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 moduleCocoon syndrome 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 cocoon 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
component of inhibitor of nuclear factor kappa B kinase complex (CHUK) — CHUK 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 4-sulfamoylphenyldrag to rotate · scroll to zoom
RCSB Protein Data Bank · entry 5EBZ · 4.5 Å · ligand 2-azanyl-5-phenyl-3-(4-sulfamoylphenyl)benzamide (5TL). Experimental structure, not a prediction.
What the evidence adds up to
Abdominal cocoon syndrome, also called sclerosing encapsulating peritonitis, is a rare cause of intestinal obstruction in adults and children. Four case series and reports from 2020 to 2023 describe a total of eight patients. Two male patients aged 29 and 75 presented with abdominal pain and vomiting but no change in bowel habit or peritoneal signs; both were diagnosed at surgery and treated by excision of the fibrous membrane and adhesiolysis. An eleven-year-old girl with two weeks of abdominal pain and vomiting, a positive family history of tuberculosis, and CT findings of dilated bowel and trapped free fluid underwent explorative laparotomy; a thin membranous sac enclosing dilated small bowel loops was released by blunt dissection, and her six-month postoperative follow-up was uneventful. A 72-year-old man who had received a liver transplant three years earlier for cirrhosis presented with acute obstruction and CT signs of intestinal ischaemia; laparotomy confirmed the diagnosis, adhesiolysis was performed, and no immediate or postoperative complications were documented.
The abstracts consistently state that preoperative diagnosis is difficult and that most diagnoses are made during laparotomy performed for mechanical obstruction. One 2020 series of four patients, without giving individual ages or outcomes, advises that large-scale surgical resections should be avoided. The 2022 report notes that recurrent episodes of obstruction often resolve with conservative measures, delaying diagnosis, and that definitive treatment—membrane excision and adhesiolysis—is reserved for more severe cases. The 2023 report adds that chronic peritoneal inflammation, liver cirrhosis, and liver transplantation are associated conditions.
No drug treatment is mentioned in any of these abstracts. No randomised trial, no controlled comparison of surgical versus non-surgical management, and no long-term follow-up beyond six months in one paediatric case are reported. The evidence consists entirely of small surgical case series and single case reports. What is missing is any prospective study, any standardised diagnostic criteria validated outside the operating theatre, any data on recurrence rates after adhesiolysis, and any investigation of non-surgical management strategies. Without larger, systematically collected patient cohorts, the natural history and optimal management of abdominal cocoon syndrome remain undefined.
Evidence
Retrieved by DeepSearch across 234,678,978 indexed works and resolved on OpenAlex — ranked by citations, including the results that did not work.
Case Reports in Surgery · 2020 · 9 citations · open access
Two Different Clinical Approaches with Mortality Assessment of Four Cases: Complete and Incomplete Type of Abdominal Cocoon Syndrome
AbstractAbdominal cocoon syndrome (ACS), also called sclerosing encapsulated peritonitis, is a condition characterized by encapsulation of all or some of small bowel loops by a thick fibrous membrane. Etiologic cause is not fully known. It is among the rare causes of intestinal obstruction in adults. Preoperative diagnosis is difficult, and high suspicion is required. Diagnosis is generally made during laparotomy performed due to mechanical obstruction. In treatment of the condition, large scale surgical resections should be avoided. In the present study, we aimed to evaluate all clinical and radiological characteristics and surgical treatment of ACS in light of the literature through four patients operated in our clinic.
Abdominal Cocoon Syndrome: A Rare Cause of Intestinal Obstruction
AbstractAbdominal cocoon syndrome, also known as Sclerosing Encapsulating Peritonitis, is characterized by a fibro-collagenous membrane that involves abdominal viscera and it's a rare cause of intestinal obstruction. We present here two cases. Two male patients, 29 and 75 years old, were admitted to our emergency department with abdominal pain, vomiting, tender and painful abdomen but without changes in intestinal transit or peritoneal reaction. They were treated surgically and diagnosed with abdominal cocoon syndrome. Patients with abdominal cocoon syndrome usually present with recurrent episodes of intestinal obstruction, which result from the compression of the bowel within the constricting cocoon. Most of the time, this clinical picture resolves with conservative measures, delaying the diagnosis. The definitive treatment consists of excision of the membrane with lysis of adhesions, which is usually reserved for more severe cases of obstruction. This is a rare disease, where a high suspicion index is of paramount importance, especially considering that most of the diagnoses are made at the surgery.
Journal of Pediatrics Review · 2020 · 4 citations · open access
Abdominal Cocoon Syndrome in a Child With Intestinal Obstruction: A Case Report and Literature Review
AbstractAbdominal cocoon syndrome or idiopathic Sclerosing Encapsulating Peritonitis (SEP) is an extremely uncommon cause of intestinal obstruction. Its etiology is explainable through numerous theories. An eleven-year-old girl referred to the pediatric surgery OPD with complaints of abdominal pain for the past two weeks and vomiting for two days. Her family history for tuberculosis was positive. On examination, the abdomen was distended and slightly firm on palpation. The X-ray of her abdomen revealed multiple air-fluid levels. The CECT of the abdomen indicated dilated abdomen, duodenum, and proximal bowel loops. Some trapped inter bowel free fluid was also observed. The clinical presentation of subacute intestinal obstruction and the radiological features suggested a differential diagnosis of tubercular peritonitis versus pseudomyxoma peritonei. The obstructive symptoms demonstrated that the patient underwent an explorative laparotomy. Preoperatively, a thin membranous sac was identified enclosing multiple dilated small bowel loops. The sac was released by blunt dissection and part of the sac was provided for histopathological examination. Based on clinical, histopathological, and radiological findings, a diagnosis of abdominal cocoon syndrome was determined. The postoperative follow-up period of 6 months was uneventful. We presented a rare case of primary sclerosing encapsulating peritonitis, also reported as abdominal cocoon syndrome. It is among the rare potentially devastating causes of intestinal obstruction in children. A very high index of suspicion is imperative to arrive at its pre-operative diagnosis alone by clinical and radiological findings.
International Journal of Clinical Research · 2023 · 0 citations · open access
Abdominal Cocoon Syndrome in a Liver Transplant Patient: A Case Report and Review of the Literature
AbstractIntroduction: Cocoon syndrome is an uncommon cause of intestinal obstruction caused by the formation of a fibrous band around small intestines, thought to be caused by chronic peritoneal inflammation and associated with several conditions such as liver cirrhosis and liver transplantation. Case Report: We present a case of a 72-year-old male patient who had liver transplantation three years ago for liver cirrhosis. He had an acute presentation of intestinal obstruction where a computed tomography (CT) scan showed dilated bowel loops and signs of intestinal ischemia, which warranted surgical laparotomy where the diagnosis of cocoon syndrome (sclerosing encapsulating peritonitis) was made and was then treated by adhesiolysis. No immediate or postoperative complications were documented and his life was back to normal. Conclusion: Therefore, an abdominal cocoon is a challenging diagnosis and should be considered in front of intestinal obstruction, especially in those with risk factors such as liver transplantation.
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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