Speaker
Description
Hepatic encephalopathy (HE) is a wide range of neuropsychiatric abnormalities resulted from impaired liver function. It is frequently observed in patients with chronic liver disease or cirrhosis. The present investigation aimed to assess social interaction, anxiety and social recognition memory in Wistar rats with chronic liver dysfunction induced by thioacetamide (TAA) administration. The liver function was assessed via histopathology and blood biochemical markers: ALT, AST, serum matrix metalloproteinases 3 and 9, tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase 1 (TIMP-1) and procollagen III amino terminal peptide (P3NP). Our data showed elevated levels of ALT and AST and significant decrease of MMP3 and 9 in TAA-treated rats compared to controls. As well, we showed significant increase in serum TIMP-1 and P3NP in TAA-treated rats compared to control group. This was confirmed in histopathology in which we showed severe fibrosis in TAA treated rats. The behavioral assessment was performed using social interaction test (SIT) and social recognition memory (SRM) test and elevated plus maze test (EPM). Our results show decreased social interaction with increased non-social interaction times in the SIT, and impaired social recognition memory with elevated anxiety. These findings make a significant contribution to understanding the widespread decline in quality of life caused by HE. Consequently, the management of HE patients should include interventions and approaches aimed at addressing the reported alterations.
Keywords: Hepatic encephalopathy, biochemical analysis, histopathology, neuropsychiatric abnormalities, chronic liver disease, anxiety, social interaction, social recognition memory.
