What is the most common cause of encephalopathy?

 What is the most common cause of encephalopathy?

Encephalopathy may be caused by

infectious agent (bacteria, virus, or prion), 

metabolic or mitochondrial dysfunction, 

brain tumor or increased pressure in the skull, 

prolonged exposure to toxic elements (including solvents, drugs, radiation, paints, industrial chemicals, and certain metals), 

chronic progressive trauma.

Encephalopathy

 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.

citation Link:https://www.medicinenet.com/encephalopathy/article.htm

What causes encephalopathy?

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):

Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE)

 Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) is a progressive brain condition that's thought to be caused by repeated blows to the head and repeated episodes of concussion. It's particularly associated with contact sports, such as boxing or American football. 

Most of the available studies are based on ex-athletes.

cirrhosis and alcohol

 Alcohol may cause swelling and inflammation in your liver, or something called hepatitis. Over time, this can lead to scarring and cirrhosis of the liver, which is the final phase of alcoholic liver disease. The damage caused by cirrhosis is unfortunately irreversible.

How long can an alcoholic live with cirrhosis?

 How long can an alcoholic live with cirrhosis?

A person who has alcohol-related cirrhosis and doesn't stop drinking has a less than 50% chance of living for at least 5 more years.

hepatology include

 Why would I be referred to hepatology?

A general practitioner may refer a patient to a hepatologist for a variety of reasons including drug overdose, gastrointestinal bleeding from portal hypertension, jaundice, ascites, enzyme defects or blood tests that indicate liver disease.

3 stages of alcoholic liver disease

 What are the 3 stages of alcoholic liver disease?

Alcoholic liver disease is defined by three stages of liver damage following chronic heavy alcohol consumption: fatty liver, alcoholic hepatitis, and fibrosis/cirrhosis (Figure 5).

Acute encephalopathy

Encephalopathy is a general term that refers to brain disease, damage, or malfunction.

encephalopathy can be prevented by avoiding the many primary causes.