Encephalopathy
| Encephalopathy | |
|---|---|
| Chronic traumatic encephalopathy. | |
| Specialty | Neurology |
| Symptoms | Altered mental state, attention, orientation, sleep–wake cycle and consciousness |
| Causes | Chemotherapy medication, brain injury, chronic infections, strokes, brain tumors, celiac disease or non-celiac gluten sensitivity. |
| Diagnostic method | Blood tests, cerebrospinal fluid, brain imaging studies, electroencephalography (EEG), neuropsychological testing |
| Treatment | Anticonvulsants, Sympathomimetic drugs, Changes to diet and nutritional supplements (ex. gluten-free diet) |
Encephalopathy (/ɛnˌsɛfəˈlɒpəθi/; from Ancient Greek ἐγκέφαλος (enképhalos) 'brain' and πάθος (páthos) 'suffering') means any disorder or disease of the brain, especially chronic degenerative conditions. In modern usage, encephalopathy does not refer to a single disease, but rather to a syndrome of overall brain dysfunction; this syndrome has many possible organic and inorganic causes.