What does encephalomalacia lead to?

Encephalomalacia is a very serious brain disorder that can cause permanent tissue damage, such as brain scarring or loss of tissues. Encephalomalacia can cause brain damage that impairs functioning and health, as well as lead to certain diseases and disorders.

Is Cystic encephalomalacia fatal?

The condition occurs in all age groups. However, it is often fatal in infants diagnosed with the disorder. Symptoms of encephalamalacia can vary from mild to severe depending on the area of the brain affected and how much softening has occurred.

What causes occipital encephalomalacia?

Most times when we encounter encephalomalacia, it was caused by some type of birth injury, either during the labor and delivery of a child, or the treatment shortly thereafter. The usual direct cause of the encephalomalacia is a hypoxic event experienced by the infant, either in utero or shortly thereafter.

What is occipital encephalomalacia?

Encephalomalacia refers to softening of the brain’s tissue due to hemorrhage or inflammation. It is one of the most serious types of brain injury. It can affect specific parts of the brain, or can be more widespread, and encephalomalacia can lead to complete dysfunction of the part of the brain that is affected.

What are the stages of encephalomalacia?

Cerebral softening, also known as encephalomalacia, is a localized softening of the substance of the brain, due to bleeding or inflammation. Three varieties, distinguished by their color and representing different stages of the disease progress, are known respectively as red, yellow, and white softening.

How quickly 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.

What does cystic encephalomalacia mean?

Multicystic encephalomalacia refers to the formation of multiple cystic cavities of various sizes in the cerebral cortex of neonates and infants after injury, most notably perinatal hypoxic-ischemic events. Chronic sinusitis has become one of the most common diseases in otolaryngology practice.

Can encephalomalacia cause 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.

Is encephalomalacia a stroke?

Cerebral softening, also known as encephalomalacia, is a localized softening of the substance of the brain, due to bleeding or inflammation….

Can encephalomalacia cause stroke?

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.

How serious is cystic encephalomalacia?

A cyst that blocks CSF drainage areas can cause this pressure. It can further brain damage or be life threatening. A child may require urgent surgery to relieve this pressure.

What do you need to know about encephalomalacia?

Encephalomalacia Definition. It is a condition characterized by localized softening of brain tissues due to inflammation or hemorrhage. The softening may occur in a specific part of the brain or may be more widespread.

What kind of brain injury is multicystic encephalomalacia?

This is one of the most severe complications of brain injury (1,3) In neonates and infants, there is what we call multicystic encephalomalacia. As the term implies, a number of cystic cavities or spaces are observed after the neonate or infant undergoes cerebral hypoxia and/or ischemia (4).

When to have cranial sonography for multicystic encephalomalacia?

All newborns and infants who had asphyxia, cerebral infection, or intracranial hemorrhage should undergo cranial sonography to rule out multicystic encephalomalacia. It is critical for this to be diagnosed as early as possible because as the disease progresses, the prognosis becomes so much worse than it already is (6).

How is encephalomalacia related to Wallerian degeneration?

More often than not, encephalomalacia comes with gliosis (proliferation of glial cells) and Wallerian degeneration (degeneration of axons and myelin sheaths) (5). It can also be performed during autopsy procedures wherein the pathologist grossly sees decreased consistency or disrupted margin of the brain tissue (4).