Encephalopathy

Encephalopathy

Medical Author: Charles Davis, MD, PhD
Medical Editor: Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD

• What is encephalopathy?
• What causes encephalopathy?
• What are the symptoms of encephalopathy?
• How is encephalopathy diagnosed?
• What is the treatment for encephalopathy?
• What are the complications of encephalopathy?
• What is the prognosis (outlook) for encephalopathy?
• Can encephalopathy be prevented?
• Encephalopathy At A Glance
• For more information on types of encephalopathy
• Related encephalopathy article:
  Encephalopathy - on eMedicineHealth
• Patient Discussions: Encephalopathy: Type of Encephalopathy

What is encephalopathy?

Encephalopathy is a term that means brain disease, damage, or malfunction. Encephalopathy can present a very broad spectrum of symptoms that range from mild, such as some memory loss or subtle personality changes, to severe, such as dementia, seizures, coma, or death. In general, encephalopathy is manifested by an altered mental state that is sometimes accompanied by physical manifestations (for example, poor coordination of limb movements).

The term encephalopathy is very broad and in most cases, is preceded by various terms that describe the reason, cause, or special conditions of the patient that leads to brain malfunction. For example, anoxic encephalopathy means brain damage due to lack of oxygen, and hepatic encephalopathy means brain malfunction due to liver disease. Additionally, some other terms either describe body conditions or syndromes that lead to a specific set of brain malfunctions. Examples of these are metabolic encephalopathy and Wernicke's encephalopathy (Wernicke's syndrome). There are over 150 different terms that modify or precede "encephalopathy" in the medical literature.

What causes encephalopathy?

The causes of encephalopathy are both numerous and varied.

Some examples of causes of encephalopathy include:

• infections (bacteria, viruses, parasites, or prions),
  
  
• anoxia (lack of oxygen to the brain),
  
  
• alcohol consumption,
  
  
• liver failure,
  
  
• kidney failure,
  
  
• metabolic diseases,
  
  
• brain tumors,
  
  
• many types of toxic chemicals,
  
  
• alterations in pressure in the brain, and
  
  
• poor nutrition.

These examples do not cover all of the potential causes of encephalopathy but are listed to demonstrate the wide range of causes.

Although numerous causes of encephalopathy are known, the majority of cases arise from several major categories:

1. infection,
   
   
2. liver damage,
   
   
3. anoxia, and
   
   
4. kidney failure.

Encephalopathy: Type of Encephalopathy

The MedicineNet physician editors ask:

From what type of encephalopathy did you suffer?

Anonymously share your comment to help others.
See 4 Viewer Comments

Submit Your Comment

Links will open in a new window on MedicineNet.com