Non invasive blood flow measurement in cerebellum detects minimal hepatic encephalopathy earlier than psychometric tests

Figure 1 Blood flow in the different brain regions studied. A: Blood flow in frontal lobe, parietal lobe, occipital lobe, vermis, cerebellar hemisphere and thalamus in controls and cirrhotic patients without and with minimal hepatic encephalopathy (MHE); B: Blood flow in cerebellar hemisphere and vermis including the patients (n = 7) showing Psychometric Hepatic Encephalopathy Score (PHES) = -3, considered as borderline. Data are expressed as mL of blood per minute per 100 g of brain tissue (mean ± SEM) of 14 controls, 24 patients without and 16 with MHE. ^aP < 0.05; ^bP < 0.01 vs control, Values significantly different between patients with and without MHE are indicated by ^cP < 0.05.

Figure 2 Performance in the Stroop, bimanual and visuo-motor coordination tests. A: Bimanual coordination test; B: Visuo-motor coordination test; C: Stroop congruent task; D: Stroop neutral task; E: Stroop incongruent task. Values are the mean ± SEM of 14 controls, 24 patients without and 16 with MHE. ^aP < 0.05; ^bP < 0.01 vs control, Values significantly different between patients with and without MHE are indicated by ^cP < 0.05; ^dP < 0.01.