Encephalopathy

Encephalopathy is a nonspecific term describing a syndrome affecting the brain. Generally, it refers to involvement of large parts of the brain (or the whole organ), instead of identifiable changes confined to parts of the brain. Encephalopathy may refer to the clinical findings: altered mental state without focal findings; or, more generally, it may refer to the pathophysiology that causes these findings.

Related Topics:
Brain - Pathophysiology

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There are many different causes of encephalopathy. An example is hepatic encephalopathy, which occurs in severe cirrhosis of the liver. A form of encephalopathy that has recently received a lot of coverage is bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE, "mad cow disease").

Related Topics:
Cirrhosis - Liver - Recently - Bovine spongiform encephalopathy

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