Brain Muscle Axis During Treatment of Hepatic Encephalopathy With L-ornithine L-aspartate
Status:
Completed
Trial end date:
2015-06-01
Target enrollment:
Participant gender:
Summary
Patients with cirrhosis of the liver may suffer from a condition called hepatic
encephalopathy which in its mildest form as mental slowing and impaired reaction times in
driving and machinery operation. Left untreated it may lead to deep coma. The cause is not
fully understood but is though to be related to the inability of a damaged liver to filter
out toxins such as ammonia in the blood, which then accumulate within the brain and result in
altered function and swelling within certain brain cells,astrocytes. These patients also
suffer from muscle loss, which is associated with a poor outcome. L-ornithine
L-aspartate(LOLA) is a licensed drug in Germany and has been shown to promote ammonia
elimination from the body in the form of urea. Some experimental studies have suggested that
LOLA also potentially attenuates muscle loss by incorporating ammonia into muscle in the form
of glutamine. The aim of this study is to determine cognitive and nutritional effects of 12
weeks of LOLA administration and its effect on brain muscle structure and function in
patients with cirrhosis.