Treatment of chronic portal-systemic encephalopathy with lactose in lactase-deficient patients

A controlled cross-over clinical comparison of lactose (50 g twice a day) versus neomycin (3 g/day) plus milk of magnesia, was carried out in ten cirrhotic patients with chronic portal-systemic encephalopathy and documented lactase deficiency. Serial semiquantitative assessments were done including:...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Digestive diseases and sciences 1980-12, Vol.25 (12), p.924-928
Main Authors: Uribe, M, Márquez, M A, García-Ramos, G, Escobedo, V, Murillo, H, Guevara, L, Lisker, R
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Chronic Disease
Clinical Trials as Topic
Drug Therapy, Combination
Female
Follow-Up Studies
Hepatic Encephalopathy - drug therapy
Humans
Lactose - administration & dosage
Lactose - therapeutic use
Lactose Intolerance - complications
Liver Cirrhosis - complications
Magnesium Hydroxide - administration & dosage
Male
Neomycin - administration & dosage
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Summary:A controlled cross-over clinical comparison of lactose (50 g twice a day) versus neomycin (3 g/day) plus milk of magnesia, was carried out in ten cirrhotic patients with chronic portal-systemic encephalopathy and documented lactase deficiency. Serial semiquantitative assessments were done including: mental state, asterixis, number connection test, electroencephalogram, and blood ammonia levels. No patient developed deep coma while ingesting either lactose or neomycin plus milk of magnesia. However, a significant improvement of mental state, asterixis, number connection tests, and electroencephalograms was evident during lactose therapy. apart from mild diarrhea and bloating, no severe side effects were noticeable during lactose treatment. Based on these results, we propose lactose as a valuable alternate treatment of portal-systemic encephalopathy in lactase-deficient populations.
ISSN:0163-2116
1573-2568
DOI:10.1007/BF01308043