[EEG and biochemical considerations on 40 cirrhotic patients surgically treated by portacaval anastomosis or...

Starting from biochemical hypotheses on hepatic encephalopathy, which presuppose at the basis of this disease first of all some modifications of the plasmatic values of octopamine, ammonia, serotonin and of particular aromatic aminoacids, the Authors compared the levels of ammoniemia and of octopaminemia with eegraphic data, in two groups of cirrhotic patients, operated of porto-cava anastomosis (16 patients) ad of mesenterico-cava by-pass (24 patients). All this in order to value if there are significant correlations between these values and the cerebral damage and also if there are differences between the two types of operation. Attained data show a good correlation between neuropsychiatric symptomatology and importance of the cerebral damage noticeable at the E.E.G. As to the possible correlations existing between biochemical data and E.E.G., while as to plasmatic octopamine no significant modifications were found, as to ammoniemia, highest values correspond to findings of greater cerebral compromission. Moreover, it seems that between the two types of operations, the mesenterico-cava by-pass is the one that allows a better clinical and eegraphic evolution.