The hippocampus is a crucial pathological node for minimal hepatic encephalopathy (MHE) and it is associated with various cognitive impairments. We assessed hippocampal FC alterations in relation to regional volume and their associations with PHES results of cirrhotic patient and reached the following findings. (i) Hippocampal volume is significantly lower in MHE. (ii) A disruption of hippocampal connectivity to the default-mode network was observed in the MHE patients. (iii) The bilateral hippocampal FC strength (but not hippocampal volume) was positively correlated with the PHES results of the cirrhotic patients and aggravate with HE progression. Our findings revealed that both structural and functional abnormalities of the hippocampus are involved in the mechanism underlying cognitive deterioration with disease progression.
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