The confusion of a failing liver eased, and survival did not
Across 18 trials in 934 adults with cirrhosis, branched-chain amino acids reduced hepatic encephalopathy, a risk ratio of 0.79. Nothing could be concluded about survival.
What the study found
BCAAs eased hepatic encephalopathy on low-certainty evidence
Hepatic encephalopathy is confusion that comes when a failing liver stops clearing toxins. Across 18 trials in 934 adults with cirrhosis, branched-chain amino acids reduced it, a risk ratio of 0.79, and nothing could be concluded about survival. This is clinical care, not a tub of powder.
The caveat · Never tested against lactulose
Low certainty for the encephalopathy benefit, very low for everything else, which is as much the finding as the numbers. No trial compared these preparations against lactulose or rifaximin, the drugs these patients actually get, so nothing here says whether they add to standard care.