Impaired Gut-Liver-Brain Axis in Patients with Cirrhosis

• Published in: Scientific reports Vol. 6; no. 1; p. 26800
• Main Authors: Ahluwalia, Vishwadeep, Betrapally, Naga S, Hylemon, Phillip B, White, Melanie B, Gillevet, Patrick M, Unser, Ariel B, Fagan, Andrew, Daita, Kalyani, Heuman, Douglas M, Zhou, Huiping, Sikaroodi, Masoumeh, Bajaj, Jasmohan S
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 26.05.2016; Nature Publishing Group
• Subjects: 692/4020/4021/1607/1604; 692/699/1503/2745; Adult; Aged; Ammonia; Astrocytes - pathology; Bacteroidaceae - isolation & purification; Brain - diagnostic imaging; Brain - physiopathology; Brain Edema - diagnostic imaging; Brain Edema - etiology; Brain Edema - physiopathology; Choline; Cirrhosis; Cognition Disorders - etiology; Cognitive ability; Diffusion Tensor Imaging; Dysbacteriosis; Dysbiosis - complications; Edema; Enterobacteriaceae - isolation & purification; Female; Firmicutes - isolation & purification; Gastrointestinal Microbiome; Glutamine; Hepatic encephalopathy; Hepatic Encephalopathy - etiology; Hepatic Encephalopathy - physiopathology; Humanities and Social Sciences; Humans; Hyperammonemia; Hyperammonemia - etiology; Inflammation; Inositol; Intestinal microflora; Intestines - microbiology; Intestines - physiopathology; Liver - physiopathology; Liver cirrhosis; Liver Cirrhosis - complications; Liver Cirrhosis - microbiology; Liver Cirrhosis - physiopathology; Liver Cirrhosis - psychology; Magnetic resonance imaging; Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; Male; Middle Aged; Models, Biological; multidisciplinary; Neuroimaging; Science; Science (multidisciplinary); Spectroscopy; Spectrum analysis

Cirrhosis is associated with brain dysfunction known as hepatic encephalopathy (HE). The mechanisms behind HE are unclear although hyperammonemia and systemic inflammation through gut dysbiosis have been proposed. We aimed to define the individual contribution of specific gut bacterial taxa towards...