A 69-year-old woman was hospitalized due to progressive lethargy with hyperammonemia. Five months before the current admission, she was diagnosed with depression based on her low level of daily physical activity and thus began taking antidepressants. Abdominal computed tomography revealed a portosystemic shunt running between the left renal vein and inferior mesenteric vein. Balloon-occluded retrograde transvenous obliteration of the shunt vessel was performed, and the patient showed a remarkable clinical improvement. The possibility of a portosystemic shunt should be considered in the presence or absence of underlying liver disease and the ammonia level should be measured before diagnosing depression, as portosystemic encephalopathy may be reversible with interventional radiology treatment.

Download full-text PDF

Source
http://dx.doi.org/10.2169/internalmedicine.54.3800DOI Listing

Publication Analysis

Top Keywords

portosystemic encephalopathy
8
portosystemic shunt
8
portosystemic
4
encephalopathy liver
4
liver cirrhosis
4
cirrhosis masquerading
4
masquerading depression
4
depression 69-year-old
4
69-year-old woman
4
woman hospitalized
4

Similar Publications

Background: Liver cirrhosis accounts for more than 90 % of portal hypertension cases, and the other cases are due to noncirrhotic portal hypertension (NCPH). Variceal bleeding is the most life-threatening complication of portal hypertension and its primary treatment is medical according to the Baveno VII guidelines. This review discusses the evidence on surgical portal decompression for adult patients with NCPH secondary to chronic extrahepatic portal vein obstruction (EHPVO).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Cell-cell communications in the brain of hepatic encephalopathy: The neurovascular unit.

Life Sci

January 2025

Department of Biotechnology, College of Biomedical & Health Science, Konkuk University, Chungju, Republic of Korea; Research Institute for Biomedical & Health Science (RIBHS), Konkuk University, Chungju, Republic of Korea. Electronic address:

Many patients with liver diseases are exposed to the risk of hepatic encephalopathy (HE). The incidence of HE in liver patients is high, showing various symptoms ranging from mild symptoms to coma. Liver transplantation is one of the ways to overcome HE.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Vitamin D Supplementation Is Associated with Inflammation Amelioration and Cognitive Improvement in Decompensated Patients with Cirrhosis.

Nutrients

January 2025

Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Hepáticas y Digestivas (CIBERehd), 28029 Madrid, Spain.

Decompensated cirrhosis is characterized by systemic inflammation and innate and adaptive immune dysfunction. Hepatic encephalopathy (HE) is a prevalent and debilitating condition characterized by cognitive disturbances in which ammonia and inflammation play a synergistic pathogenic role. Extraskeletal functions of vitamin D include immunomodulation, and its deficiency has been implicated in immune dysfunction and different forms of cognitive impairment.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Hepatic encephalopathy (HE) in dogs is a metabolic disorder of the central nervous system that occurs secondarily to liver dysfunctions, whether due to acquired or congenital causes. A portosystemic shunt is the presence of abnormal communications between the hepatic vessels (portal and suprahepatic veins). As a result of this, the blood brought from the digestive tract through the portal vein bypasses the liver, and the unmetabolized components of the portal bloodstream enter directly into systemic circulation, causing clinical symptoms of metabolic encephalopathy (HE).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

A Systematic Review of Microbiota in Cirrhosis: A Change Towards a More Pathogenic Predisposition.

Int J Mol Sci

January 2025

Gastroenterology-Liver-Endoscopy Unit, 2nd Department of Internal Medicine, General Hospital of Athens "Hippocration", National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 115 27 Athens, Greece.

The microbiome of the human intestine is a regulator of health that modulates immune response and plays an important role in metabolism. The diversity, and abundance of microbiota communities in the gut have been shown to change in cirrhosis and its complications. We aimed to review the current knowledge regarding microbiota alterations in cirrhosis, its potential differences according to etiology, and its role in the development of cirrhosis complications.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Want AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?

Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!