The Levels Of Cytokines And S 100β Which Associated With The Pathogenesis Of Hepatic Encephalopathy In Rats: Role Of Lactulose And N-Acetylcysteine In Its Treatment

Hepatic encephalopathy (HE) is a reversible syndrome of impaired brain function occurring in patients with advanced liver failure. Recently, it has been reported that pro inflammatory cytokines are involved in the pathogenesis of brain oedema during HE. This study was conducted to elucidate the changes of plasma and brain pro inflammatory cytokines in encephalopathy rats and to evaluate the hepato-protective activity of lactulose or N-acetylcysteine against thioacetamide (TAA) induced hepatopathy in rats. Acute hepatic encephalopathy (HE) in rats was induced by intraperitoneal injection of thioacetamide in 24 hours intervals for two consecutive days. The obtained results revealed significant increase (P<0.05) in liver function tests (ALT, AST, ALP, bilirubin), ammonia, nitric oxide and total oxidant capacity (TOC) in TAA rats than those in control ones. Brain water content was significantly elevated in TAA rats as compared with the control. In addition, the levels of pro inflammatory cytokines (IL-1Β, IL-6, TNF-α) in both serum and brain were significantly increased associated with a remarkable elevation in the level of serum S 100β in TAA rats. On the other hand, induction of hepatic encephalopathy caused significant decrease (P<0.05) in total antioxidant capacity (TAC) levels. When HE rats group was treated with lactulose or N-acetylcysteine, considerable amelioration effects in all previous studied parameters were pronounced dependent on certain mechanisms