Hepatic Encephalopathy: Current and Emerging Treatment Modalities

Hepatic encephalopathy (HE) is a potentially reversible neurocognitive complication of cirrhosis. It has been reported in at least 30% of patients with cirrhosis and imposes a significant economic burden on caregivers and the healthcare system. Ammonia has been recognized as the culprit in HE development, and all the currently approved treatments mostly act on this toxin to help with HE resolution. After a brief overview of HE characteristics and pathophysiology, this review explores the current accepted treatments for this debilitating complication of cirrhosis. This is followed by an overview of the novel available therapies and a brief focus on future treatment modalities for HE.

Automated summary

Hepatic encephalopathy (HE) is a potentially reversible neurocognitive complication of cirrhosis that imposes a significant economic burden. Ammonia is recognized as the main cause of HE development and current treatments mainly target this toxin. This review provides an overview of HE characteristics, pathophysiology, traditional treatments, novel therapies, and future treatment modalities.