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.
The term encephalopathy, 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.
The causes of encephalopathy are both numerous and varied. Examples of causes of encephalopathy include:
- infectious (bacteria, viruses, parasites, or prions),
- anoxic (lack of oxygen to the brain, including traumatic causes),
- alcoholic (alcohol toxicity),
- hepatic (for example, liver failure or liver cancer),
- uremic (renal or kidney failure),
- metabolic diseases (hyper- or hypocalcemia, hypo- or hypernatremia, or hypo- or hyperglycemic),
- brain tumors,
- toxic chemicals (mercury, lead, or ammonia),
- alterations in pressure within the brain (often from bleeding, tumors, or abscesses), and
- poor nutrition (inadequate vitamin B1 intake or alcohol withdrawal).
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 (some examples in parentheses):
