O'Carroll R
MRC Brain Metabolism Unit, Royal Edinburgh Hospital, U.K.
Alcohol Alcohol Suppl. 1993;2:191-5.
It has become increasingly clear that many cirrhotic patients who do not display overt clinical encephalopathy, on closer examination, do demonstrate significant cognitive impairment, which often goes unrecognised. This "latent" hepatic encephalopathy (LHE) is usually characterised by memory impairment and psychomotor slowing, and is not simply attributable to the effects of alcohol. Structural neuroimaging studies (CT and MRI) have produced conflicting results. Functional neuroimaging studies (PET and SPECT) which have measured regional cerebral blood flow, however, have found evidence of increased regional cerebral activity in sub-cortical areas in LHE patients, with the degree of sub-cortical activity correlated with the severity of neuropsychological impairment.
越来越明显的是，许多未表现出明显临床肝性脑病的肝硬化患者，经仔细检查后确实显示出明显的认知障碍，而这种障碍往往未被识别。这种“潜在”的肝性脑病（LHE）通常以记忆障碍和精神运动迟缓为特征，并非仅仅归因于酒精的影响。结构性神经影像学研究（CT和MRI）结果相互矛盾。然而，测量局部脑血流的功能性神经影像学研究（PET和SPECT）发现，LHE患者皮质下区域存在局部脑活动增加的证据，皮质下活动程度与神经心理障碍的严重程度相关。
