Two treatments to prevent thinking problems after liver disease

This trial is testing whether Branched Chain Amino Acids (BCAA) or Rifaximin work better—or equally well—at preventing hepatic encephalopathy (confusion and cognitive problems linked to liver disease) in people who have recovered from an episode. You would take one of these two medications along with a standard treatment called lactulose for 12 weeks to see which approach works best at keeping thinking and memory problems from coming back.

People who have recovered from severe thinking problems related to liver disease are at high risk of having them again, and sometimes continue to experience subtle memory and cognitive difficulties that go unnoticed. Doctors need better, affordable, and effective ways to prevent these episodes from recurring and improve quality of life.