OBJECTIVE: To elucidate the nature of the neuropsychological deficits associated with subclinical hepatic encephalopathy. DESIGN: Prospective study comparing the performance of patients with liver disease and carefully matched normal controls on a short but comprehensive neuropsychological test battery. SETTING: A university medical center. PARTICIPANTS: Twenty patients with cirrhosis (10 alcoholic and 10 nonalcoholic) and 20 controls carefully matched on the basis of age, sex, education, and alcohol history. RESULTS: The cirrhotic patients exhibited relatively selective deficits in complex attentional and fine motor skills, with preservation of general intellectual ability, memory, language and visuospatial perception. CONCLUSIONS: This pattern of neuropsychological deficits suggests a subcortical pathophysiology, possibly reflecting involvement of the basal ganglia. These neuropsychological findings are consistent with recent neuroradiological, electrophysiological, and neurophysiological research implicating basal ganglia involvement in cirrhosis.
OBJECTIVE: To elucidate the nature of the neuropsychological deficits associated with subclinical hepatic encephalopathy. DESIGN: Prospective study comparing the performance of patients with liver disease and carefully matched normal controls on a short but comprehensive neuropsychological test battery. SETTING: A university medical center. PARTICIPANTS: Twenty patients with cirrhosis (10 alcoholic and 10 nonalcoholic) and 20 controls carefully matched on the basis of age, sex, education, and alcohol history. RESULTS: The cirrhotic patients exhibited relatively selective deficits in complex attentional and fine motor skills, with preservation of general intellectual ability, memory, language and visuospatial perception. CONCLUSIONS: This pattern of neuropsychological deficits suggests a subcortical pathophysiology, possibly reflecting involvement of the basal ganglia. These neuropsychological findings are consistent with recent neuroradiological, electrophysiological, and neurophysiological research implicating basal ganglia involvement in cirrhosis.
Authors: Thomas K Burroughs; James B Wade; Michael S Ellwood; Andrew Fagan; Douglas M Heuman; Michael Fuchs; Jasmohan S Bajaj Journal: Dig Dis Sci Date: 2018-01-08 Impact factor: 3.199