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Multimodal MR imaging in hepatic encephalopathy: state of the art

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Abstract

Hepatic encephalopathy (HE) is a neurological or neuropsychological complication due to liver failure or portosystemic shunting. The clinical manifestation is highly variable, which can exhibit mild cognitive or motor impairment initially, or gradually progress to a coma, even death, without treatment. Neuroimaging plays a critical role in uncovering the neural mechanism of HE. In particular, multimodality MR imaging is able to assess both structural and functional derangements of the brain with HE in focal or neural network perspectives. In recent years, there has been rapid development in novel MR technologies and applications to investigate the pathophysiological mechanism of HE. Therefore, it is necessary to update the latest MR findings regarding HE by use of multimodality MRI to refine and deepen our understanding of the neural traits in HE. Herein, this review highlights the latest MR imaging findings in HE to refresh our understanding of MRI application in HE.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by grants from National Natural Science Foundation of China (grants No. 81322020, 81230032 to L.J.Z. and No. 81701679 to X.D.Z.).

We would like to express our great thanks for Drs. Parkwood Griffith and U. Joseph Schoepf, Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, Medical University of South Carolina, USA, for their help to polish this paper.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Radiology, Tianjin First Central Hospital, Clinical School of Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin, 300192, People’s Republic of China

    Xiao Dong Zhang

  2. Department of Medical Imaging, Jinling Hospital, Medical School of Nanjing University, No. 305 Zhongshan East Road, Nanjing, 210002, Jiangsu Province, People’s Republic of China

    Long Jiang Zhang

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  1. Xiao Dong Zhang
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  2. Long Jiang Zhang
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Correspondence to Long Jiang Zhang.

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Zhang, X.D., Zhang, L.J. Multimodal MR imaging in hepatic encephalopathy: state of the art. Metab Brain Dis 33, 661–671 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11011-018-0191-9

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