Metal Toxicity and Brain-Liver Axis

Abstract

The liver is the main detoxifier organ of the body. When normal liver function is compromised, other systems in the body can be affected, including the brain. Hepatocerebral disorder is the term used to describe some neuropsychiatric conditions that result from liver failure and characterized by the accumulation of these toxic metals in brain. Examples of such disorders are Wilson's disease (WD), an autosomal recessive disorder that is characterized by the deposition of copper in liver and brain tissues and acquired (non-Wilsonian) hepatocerebral degeneration (AHCD), a complication that occurs most frequently in patients with hepatic coma or that suffered multiple episodes of severe HE. AHCD is characterized by accumulation in brain of manganese. This chapter will focus on the crucial importance of relationship between liver and brain functioning and on the effects produced when this relationship is compromised. Specifically, the chapter will discuss on the physiopathology of WD and AHCD and on the role that toxic metals play on neurological symptoms in such disorders.