UCL Discovery
UCL home » Library Services » Electronic resources » UCL Discovery

Hepatic encephalopathy: a critical current review.

Hadjihambi, A; Arias, N; Sheikh, M; Jalan, R; (2017) Hepatic encephalopathy: a critical current review. Hepatol Int 10.1007/s12072-017-9812-3. (In press). Green open access

[thumbnail of s12072-017-9812-3.pdf]
Preview
Text
s12072-017-9812-3.pdf - Published Version

Download (1MB) | Preview

Abstract

Hepatic encephalopathy (HE) is a serious neuropsychiatric complication of cirrhosis and/or porto-systemic shunting. The clinical symptoms are widely variable, extending from subtle impairment in mental state to coma. The utility of categorizing the severity of HE accurately and efficiently serves not only to provide practical functional information about the current clinical status of the patient but also gives valuable prognostic information. In the past 20-30 years, there has been rapid progress in understanding the pathophysiological basis of HE; however, the lack of direct correlation between pathogenic factors and the severity of HE make it difficult to select appropriate therapy for HE patients. In this review, we will discuss the classification system and its limitations, the neuropsychometric assessments and their challenges, as well as the present knowledge on the pathophysiological mechanisms. Despite the many prevalent hypotheses around the pathogenesis of the disease, most treatments focus on targeting and lowering the accumulation of ammonia as well as inflammation. However, treatment of minimal HE remains a huge unmet need and a big concerted effort is needed to better define this condition to allow the development of new therapies. We review the currently available therapies and future approaches to treat HE as well as the scientific and clinical data that support their effectiveness.

Type: Article
Title: Hepatic encephalopathy: a critical current review.
Location: United States
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.1007/s12072-017-9812-3
Publisher version: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s12072-017-9812-3
Language: English
Additional information: © The Author(s) 2017. This article is an open access publication
Keywords: Classification, Hepatic encephalopathy, Pathogenesis, Treatment
UCL classification: UCL
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
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Medical Sciences > Div of Medicine
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Medical Sciences > Div of Medicine > Inst for Liver and Digestive Hlth
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1569687
Downloads since deposit
270Downloads
Download activity - last month
Download activity - last 12 months
Downloads by country - last 12 months

Archive Staff Only

View Item View Item