Cerebral edema | |
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Edema (darker areas) surrounding a secondary brain tumor. | |
Classification and external resources | |
Specialty | Neurosurgery |
ICD-10 | G93.6 |
ICD-9-CM | 348.5 |
DiseasesDB | 2227 |
MeSH | D001929 |
Cerebral edema or cerebral oedema is excess accumulation of fluid in the intracellular or extracellular spaces of the brain.
Certain changes in morphology are associated with cerebral edema: the brain becomes soft and smooth and overfills the cranial vault, gyri (ridges) become flattened, sulci (grooves) become narrowed, and ventricular cavities become compressed.
Symptoms include nausea, vomiting, blurred vision, faintness, and in severe cases, seizures and coma. If brain herniation occurs, respiratory symptoms or respiratory arrest can also occur due to compression of the respiratory centers in the pons and medulla oblongata.
Cerebral edema can result from brain trauma or from nontraumatic causes such as ischemic stroke, cancer, or brain inflammation due to meningitis or encephalitis.
Vasogenic edema caused by amyloid-modifying treatments, such as monoclonal antibodies, is known as ARIA-E (amyloid-related imaging abnormalities edema).
The blood–brain barrier (BBB) or the blood–cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) barrier may break down, allowing fluid to accumulate in the brain's extracellular space.