Minimal/Covert Hepatic Encephalopathy - Impact of Comorbid Conditions.

Mild cognitive dysfunction as in minimal or covert hepatic encephalopathy (HE) can be found in a variety of metabolic disturbances, several neurological diseases, and even older age. Because liver cirrhosis usually is accompanied by one or the other of these, a differentiation between HE and cognitive decline because of comorbidities is difficult. Somehow discriminating is the impairment of motor speed and accuracy, which is more prominent in HE than in any of the comorbidities. The observation that, for example, diabetes mellitus, renal dysfunction, infections, or hyponatremia as well as older age increase the risk of developing HE indicates the interaction between these factors and liver dysfunction in the development of HE and the necessity to adjust the therapy accordingly.