Doctor reveals how excessive liver problems can affect the brain
The liver is one of the largest and most important organs in the body. From filtering out toxins to transmitting nutrients and vitamins to the rest of the body, the organ is vital for the healthy maintenance of humans.
However, when the liver is unable to filter out toxins from the blood or when the blood flow through the organ is blocked, the toxins build up in the body and can get into the brain.
Now, in a video going viral on the internet, a doctor has revealed how this can be highly harmful to the body. The video has received over 1,007 likes.
How do liver diseases affect
brain health
?
Image credits: Getty Images
In the caption of the viral video, Dr Joseph Salhab, who goes by the name "thestomachdoc" and is a gastroenterologist, as per his Instagram bio explained how the process works.
"Many people don't realize that cirrhosis, a severe form of chronic liver disease, can progress to a condition that can impact brain function: overt hepatic encephalopathy (OHE)," said the caption.
Overt hepatic encephalopathy can cause symptoms such as confusion, tremors, personality changes and other symptoms that might not seem connected to liver function. The caption also added that Xifaxan is the first and only FDA approved medicine that reduces the risk of OHE recurrence in adults.
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"Today I want to educate you about a condition called overt hepatic hepatic encephalopathy also known as OHE," began the doctor.
"OHE is a complication of cirrhosis and occurs when the liver sustains damage and loses its ability to remove toxins from the bloodstream, effectively causing toxins to accumulate and lead to impaired brain function"
"This leads to a range of mental and physical symptoms that can significantly impact a person's well being. Symptoms associated with an episode of OHE can include confusion, disorientation, severe personality changes, changes in sleep patterns, tremors and more which on the surface level may not seem connected to a decline in liver function but that's why I always advice speaking to a doctor about all of your symptoms," explained the doc.
Treating the disease requires a diagnosis of the underlying health condition and the most common medications prescribed by healthcare providers Rifaximin and lactulose.
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