[Antibiotic therapy might alter gut microbiome. The consequence of that is dysbiosis with or without immediate overt clinical manifestation. The beneficial effect of rifaximin, a non-absorbable broad spectrum antibiotic, in gastrointestinal and hepatic disorders is known for a long time. According to recent data rifaximin has not only antibiotic but also anti-inflammatory and, within antibiotics, a unique special eubiotic effect as well. It modulates the gut microbiome, restores eubiosis through increasing beneficial species’ count while not disturbing diversity.]

[As acute or chronic liver diseases progress, liver failure and related hepatic encephalopathy may develop. The latter occurs in more than 70% of patients with hepatic cirrhosis. Because of declining cognitive functions, sleep disturbances, memory problems and impaired motion coordination, this condition can - even in mild form - limit the patient's self-sufficiency and activity and can lead to a decreased quality of life and ability to work. Its most advanced stage, hepatic coma is one of the leading causes of liver-related mortality. These conditions generate a substantial healthcare costs. Treatment of hepatic encephalopathy involves dietary restrictions, prevention and treatment of precipitating factors, inhibition of the production and absorption of toxic substances (especially ammonia) and restoration of the amino acid balance. In addition to the traditionally used treatment with disaccharids (lactulose, lactitol), evidence has been accumulating regarding the efficacy and safety of a nonabsorbable antibiotic compound, rifaximin, which targets enteral pathogen bacteria, both in treatment and in prevention of hepatic encephalopathy. Artificial liver support therapies have been also introduced in Hungary. This review summarises the experience regarding treatment of hepatic encephalography for physicians involved in the management of patients with hepatic diseases.]

Cognitive dysfunction (CD) is a common non-motor symptom of Parkinson’s disease (PD). Alexithy­mia is a still poorly understood neuropsychiatric feature of PD. Cognitive impairment (especially visuospatial dysfunction and executive dysfunction) and alexithymia share com­mon pathology of neuroanatomical structures. We hypo­thesized that there must be a correlation between CD and alexithymia levels considering this relationship of neuroanatomy. Objective – The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between alexithymia and neurocognitive function in patients with PD. Thirty-five patients with PD were included in this study. The Toronto Alexithymia Scale–20 (TAS-20), Geriatric Depression Inventory (GDI) and a detailed neuropsychological evaluation were performed. Higher TAS-20 scores were negatively correlated with Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS) similarities test score (r =-0.71, p value 0.02), clock drawing test (CDT) scores (r=-0.72, p=0.02) and verbal fluency (VF) (r=-0.77, p<0.01). Difficulty identifying feelings subscale score was negatively correlated with CDT scores (r=-0.74, p=0.02), VF scores (r=-0.66, p=0.04), visual memory immediate recall (r=-0.74, p=0.01). VF scores were also correlated with difficulty describing feelings (DDF) scores (r=-0.66, p=0.04). There was a reverse relationship bet­ween WAIS similarities and DDF scores (r=-0.70, p=0.02), and externally oriented-thinking (r=-0.77,p<0.01). Executive function Z score was correlated with the mean TAS-20 score (r=-62, p=0.03) and DDF subscale score (r=-0.70, p=0.01) Alexithymia was found to be associated with poorer performance on visuospatial and executive function test results. We also found that alexithymia was significantly correlated with depressive symptoms. Presence of alexithymia should therefore warn the clinicians for co-existing CD.