Abstract
Lactulose is known to improve cognitive function in patients with early hepatic encephalopathy; however, the underlying mechanism remains poorly understood. In the present study, we investigated the behavioral and neurochemical effects of lactulose in a rat model of early hepatic encephalopathy induced by carbon tetrachloride. Immunohistochemistry showed that lactulose treatment promoted neurogenesis and increased the number of neurons and astrocytes in the hippocampus. Moreover, lactulose-treated rats showed shorter escape latencies than model rats in the Morris water maze, indicating that lactulose improved the cognitive impairments caused by hepatic encephalopathy. The present findings suggest that lactulose effectively improves cognitive function by enhancing neuroplasticity in a rat model of early hepatic encephalopathy.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 1457-1462 |
| Number of pages | 6 |
| Journal | Neural Regeneration Research |
| Volume | 10 |
| Issue number | 9 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Sept 2015 |
Keywords
- nerve regeneration
- brain injury
- hepatic encephalopathy
- Lactulose
- neuroplasticity
- neurogenesis
- Morris water maze
- cognition
- rats
- neuronal nuclei
- glial fibrillary acidic protein
- NSFC grants
- neural regeneration