What causes brain softening?
There are a number of causes of encephalomalacia. One common cause is a cerebral infarction. Often referred to as a stroke, a cerebral infarction occurs when a blood clot or hemorrhage of one of the brain’s blood vessels blocks oxygen flow to brain tissue. As a result, cerebral softening may occur.
What can encephalomalacia lead to?
A patient with encephalomalacia may complain of symptoms such as great need to sleep, poor coordination, clumsiness or wobbling, visual impairment or blindness, vertigo, pressure in the head, severe headache, memory loss, or mood swings. In severe cases, encephalomalacia can cause terminal coma.
How long can you live with encephalomalacia?
Survival ranged from 27 to 993 days. In all cases judicial autopsy was performed. All cases came before court and in each case child abuse was considered to be proven.
Is encephalomalacia a terminal?
An individual suffering from encephalomalacia will experience a number of symptoms, all of which involve a loss of function. These symptoms can include somnolence (extreme drowsiness), blindness, ataxia (wobbliness and lack of coordination), sleep walking, head pressing, circling, and, eventually, terminal coma.
What are the symptoms of encephalomalacia?
Encephalomalacia can be caused by stroke or by severe brain swelling that interrupts cerebral blood flow. Signs and symptoms include severe headaches, dizziness, vertigo, memory loss and mood swings (if the frontal lobe of the brain is affected), diminished coordination, visual impairment, amongst others.
Does encephalomalacia lead to dementia?
[3,4,5] In adults with encephalomalacia, rare case reports are available who presented with psychiatric morbidities in the form of progressive mental decline, borderline dementia, features of depression, delusion, and oedipism.
Does encephalomalacia get worse?
The short answer is yes. Some brain injuries do get worse over time. Secondary brain injuries are complications that arise after the initial injury, such as hematomas or infections. Sometimes these injuries cut off blood circulation to certain portions of the brain, killing neurons.
Is encephalomalacia a stroke?
How fast does encephalomalacia progress?
The US appearance of the brain may be normal within the first 2 weeks after the inciting event. After 10 to 14 days, the echogenicity of affected areas of deep white matter increases.
Can encephalomalacia cause death?
It is difficult to determine if the affected parts of the brain can ever be functional after encephalomalcia has been treated. Encephalomalacia after head trauma is a serious condition with lifelong consequences and residual disability or even death from a terminal coma.