Acetylcholinesterase activity in an experimental rat model of Type C hepatic encephalopathy

Patients with liver malfunction often suffer from hepatic encephalopathy, a neurological complication which can affect attention and cognition. Diverse experimental models have been used to study brain alterations that may be responsible for hepatic encephalopathy symptoms. The aim of the study was to determine whether cognitive impairment found in cirrhosis could be due to disturbance of acetylcholinesterase activity. Acetylcholinesterase activity was assessed in the brains of Wistar rats with thioacetamide-induced cirrhosis. The cirrhotic group displayed up-regulation of acetylcholinesterase levels in the entorrhinal cortex, anterodorsal and anteroventral thalamus and accumbens, whereas down-regulation was found in the CA1, CA3 and dentate gyrus of the hippocampus. Our results indicate that the experimental model of hepatic encephalopathy by chronic administration of thioacetamide presents alterations of acetylcholinesterase activity in brain limbic system regions, which play a role in attention and memory.