[Research progress on albumin therapy for hepatic encephalopathy].

Zhonghua Gan Zang Bing Za Zhi

Department of Infectious Diseases, Key Laboratory of Molecular Biology for Infectious Diseases (Ministry of Education), Institute for Viral Hepatitis, the Second Affiliated Hospital, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing 401336, China.

Published: September 2024

AI Article Synopsis

  • - Hepatic encephalopathy (HE) is a serious brain dysfunction that occurs in patients with advanced liver disease and is characterized by a range of neurological issues, from minor changes to coma, due to liver failure and abnormal blood flow.
  • - The causes of HE are complex, mainly involving factors like ammonia buildup, inflammation, and gut microbiome changes, but the treatment options currently available are non-specific and include medications like lactulose and rifaximin.
  • - Recent studies suggest that human albumin may be a promising treatment for HE, as it not only helps improve cognitive function but also boosts the overall quality of life for patients.

Article Abstract

Hepatic encephalopathy (HE) is one of the severe complications of decompensated stage cirrhosis that causes cerebral dysfunction due to hepatic insufficiency and/or portosystemic shunts, and it usually manifests as a wide spectrum of neurological or psychiatric abnormalities ranging from subclinical alterations to coma. The pathogenesis of HE is complex, although ammonia toxicity, oxidative stress, inflammation, intestinal dysbiosis, and others among them mainly play an important role. The treatment for HE lacks specific drugs, and the current available drugs include non-absorbable disaccharides (lactulose), antibiotics (rifaximin), and other therapies (oral branched-chain amino acids, intravenous injection of L-ornithine-L-aspartic acid, probiotics). Recent research has shown that human albumin is a safe and effective treatment for HE, improving not only cognitive function but also enhancing patients' quality of life.

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Source
http://dx.doi.org/10.3760/cma.j.cn501113-20240427-00232DOI Listing

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