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Assessing the brain through the eye: New ways to explore hepatic encephalopathy

Arias, N; Mendez, M; Alcalde, I; Inigo-Portugues, A; Merayo-Lloves, J; Arias, J; Arias, JL; (2017) Assessing the brain through the eye: New ways to explore hepatic encephalopathy. Physiology & Behavior , 173 pp. 263-271. 10.1016/j.physbeh2017.02.022. Green open access

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Abstract

Minimal hepatic encephalopathy (mHE) has been shown to affect daily functioning, quality of life, driving and overall mortality. However, little is known about treating or diagnosing early impairments in mHE. We studied one of its precipitating factors, portal hypertension which is driving the inflammatory process behind mHE. The purpose was to describe an indirect diagnostic method able to detect the pathology at early stages based on the study of the vascularization and mast cells conjunctival hyperplasia as secondary inflammatory response associated to portal hypertension. Finally, we correlated the presence of histological changes in the eye in mHE with deficits in behavioral task acquisition.Rats were trained on a stimulus-response task and a spatial working memory task using the Morris water maze. Two groups of animals were used: a SHAM (sham-operated) group (n=10) and a portal hypertension (HT) group (n=10). The triple portal vein ligation method was used to create an animal model of mHE. Latencies to reach the platform, number of glial fibrillary acidic protein-immunoreactive astrocytes (GFAP-IR), mast cell expression and presence/absence of blood and lymphatic vessels were examined.There were differences in stimulus-response behavioral performance, with a deficit in the acquisition in the HT group. However, no differences between groups were found on the spatial working memory task. At the same time, differences between groups were found in the GFAP-IR density, which was lower in the HT group, and in the number of mast cells and the presence of vessels, which were higher in the HT group.In this study, we provide the first preliminary insight into the validity of exploring the eye as a possible tool to assess the diagnosis of mHE conditions.

Type: Article
Title: Assessing the brain through the eye: New ways to explore hepatic encephalopathy
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.1016/j.physbeh2017.02.022
Publisher version: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physbeh2017.02.022
Language: English
Additional information: This version is the author accepted manuscript. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions.
Keywords: Social Sciences, Science & Technology, Life Sciences & Biomedicine, Psychology, Biological, Behavioral Sciences, Psychology, Minimal hepatic encephalopathy, Striatum, LYVE-1, TNF-alpha, Working memory, GFAP-IR, FIBRILLARY ACIDIC PROTEIN, PORTAL-HYPERTENSION, MAST-CELLS, DORSAL STRIATUM, WATER MAZE, LYMPHANGIOGENESIS, ANGIOGENESIS, METABOLISM, HYPERAMMONEMIA, INDUCTION
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Medical Sciences
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1562110
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