Encephalopathies

Encephalopathy
Classification and external resources
Specialty	Neurology
ICD-10	G93.4
ICD-9-CM	348.30
MeSH	D001927
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Encephalopathy /ɛnˌsɛfəˈlɒpəθi/ means disorder or disease of the brain. In modern usage, encephalopathy does not refer to a single disease, but rather to a syndrome of overall brain dysfunction; this syndrome can have many different organic and inorganic causes.

Encephalopathy is a difficult term because it can be used to denote either a disease or finding (i.e., an observable sign in a patient).

When referring to a finding, encephalopathy refers to permanent (or degenerative) brain injury, or a reversible one. It can be due to direct injury to the brain, or illness remote from the brain. The individual findings that cause a clinician to refer to a patient as having encephalopathy include intellectual disability, irritability, agitation, delirium, confusion, somnolence, stupor, coma and psychosis. As such, describing a patient as having a clinical picture of encephalopathy is not a very specific description.

When referring to a disease, encephalopathy refers to a wide variety of brain disorders with very different etiologies, prognoses and implications. For example, prion diseases, all of which cause transmissible spongiform encephalopathies, are invariably fatal, but other encephalopathies are reversible and can have a number of causes including nutritional deficiencies and toxins.

There are many types of encephalopathy. Some examples include:

Blood tests, cerebrospinal fluid examination by lumbar puncture (also known as spinal tap), brain imaging studies, (EEG), and similar diagnostic studies may be used to differentiate the various causes of encephalopathy.

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