Why does cirrhosis affect the brain so dramatically?
The prevalence of liver disease in Australia is estimated to be 6 million and this is set to continue to increase over the next 15 years and beyond. Healthcare professionals know that with an increase in liver disease there will be an increase of patients with cirrhosis.
Hepatic encephalopathy presents occurs as a result of cirrhosis – severe liver disease. Severe onset often causes extreme personality changes, confusion, confused speech, anxiety and lethargy in patients and can develop into coma and even death.
This debilitating decline in brain function not only has a major effect on prognosis and quality life of patients, it also has an impact on families and the health care system, yet little is understood about this disease and its effects on the body and brain.
Dr Tony Rahman is studying hepatic encephalopathy in a bid to better understand the underlying causes and development of this disease, which, in turn, will improve clinician’s ability to reach a diagnosis and potentially treatment and patient outcomes in future.
Professor Gregory Scalia AMProfessor Gregory Scalia AM first stepped into The Prince Charles Hospital as a registrar in the early 90s. Now, as the hospital’s long-standing Director of Echocardiography, he has dedicated most of his career to ensuring that complex cardiac diagnoses are accessible to a much larger portion of the population through echocardiography
In this blog, we introduce you to our 2025 Research Fellowship recipients and share insights into their work and why their investigations are so important.
PhD candidate Carl Francia first observed the disproportionate impact of Acute Rheumatic Fever and RHD on Indigenous Australians while working as a physiotherapist in 2022.
The hospital’s Occupational Therapy department enlisted the help of some fourth-year UQ students to complete a joint project aimed at promoting Memory Lane and gathering feedback on its usage.
Over the past several decades on The Prince Charles Hospital’s campus, Jacaranda trees have offered shade and shelter from the elements, as well as a beautiful spot for people to gather outside the clinical environments.
