The Neuropsychiatric Aspect of the Chronic Viral Hepatitis

Abstract

Chronic viral hepatitis is a systemic disease characterized by a wide range of extrahepatic manifestations, such as cognitive impairment, chronic fatigue, sleep disorders, depression, anxiety and a decrease in quality of life. This article presents a summary of the main theories and hypotheses about the occurrence of cognitive impairment, features of treatment of patients with chronic viral hepatitis. Often, extrahepatic manifestations can outstrip the clinical manifestations of liver damage itself, which requires the use of additional diagnostic and treatment methods, and they can also significantly change the treatment tactics and prognosis of the disease. Changes in neuropsychological parameters and cognitive impairments are often recorded in patients with chronic viral hepatitis at stages characterized by the absence of significant liver fibrosis and liver cirrhosis. These changes usually occur regardless of the genotype of the infection and in the absence of structural damage to the brain. The purpose of this review is to study the main aspects of the formation of cognitive impairment in patients with chronic hepatitis, cirrhosis of viral etiology.