Skip to content
Dr. Grey AI

Condition

Encephalopathy

Hepatic encephalopathy is a decline in brain function that happens when a damaged liver can't clear ammonia, a gut-made toxin that then reaches the brain and causes confusion and personality changes. The evidence is strongest for probiotics and L-ornithine L-aspartate, which are thought to lower ammonia by changing gut bacteria and aiding its breakdown. Branched-chain amino acids and zinc have moderate evidence, while support for vitamin D and omega-3s is limited.

Supplements studied
1
Graded outcomes
1
Trials
1
People studied
99

Evidence by supplement

  • Strong
  • Moderate
  • Limited
  • Very limited

1 supplement

Phenylpiracetam: outcomes studied for Encephalopathy
GradeOutcomeEffectSizeStudiesPeopleStudies list
Anxiety Symptoms

Small Improvement

Improves (the measure goes down)Small effect99 people
Depression SymptomsImproves (the measure goes down)1 study99 people

Studies that measured depression symptoms

Cognitive DeclineImproves (the measure goes down)99 people

Key findings

  • Anxiety SymptomsPhenylpiracetamImproves (the measure goes down)

The Hepatic Encephalopathy Supportive Care protocol

2 primary supplements · 6 supporting supplements

  • ProbioticsMulti-strain, 20–50 billion CFU daily (or VSL#3-type formulation)
  • L-Ornithine L-Aspartate (LOLA)6–9 g daily in divided doses (oral) or as prescribed IV

See the full protocol

Studies cited

4 studies from PubMed

  1. [Efficacy of phenotropil in the rehabilitation of stroke patients]Zh Nevrol Psikhiatr Im S S Korsakova · PMID 21626817
  2. [The phenotropil treatment of the consequences of brain organic lesions]Zh Nevrol Psikhiatr Im S S Korsakova · PMID 16447562
  3. The efficacy of phenotropil in the complex treatment of epilepsyZh Nevrol Psikhiatr Im S S Korsakova · PMID 18646385
  4. Phenotropil in the treatment of vascular encephalopathyZh Nevrol Psikhiatr Im S S Korsakova · PMID 16608112