Encephalopathy of the brain is a combination of various pathologies of cerebral tissues, which are characterized by their dystrophic damage. They are congenital or acquired. The presented ailment is organic and gradually progresses. If treatment is not started in a timely manner, the patient will become disabled.
Reason for development
Cerebral encephalopathy is considered a serious systemic impairment of tissue functionality associated with their organic damage. The following reasons can provoke it:
- Regular intoxication of the body with chemicals, drugs, alcohol.
- Atherosclerosis of cerebral blood vessels, trauma to the skull with penetration into the brain.
- Intrauterine infection.
- Lack of liver or kidney function.
- Problems with blood vessels associated with diabetes.
- Acute lack of nutrients and vitamins in the body.
- Circulation problems.
- Violationfunctionality of the endocrine system.
- Hypoxia of brain tissues.
- Radiation exposure.
Most often, pathology develops in elderly people. If cerebral encephalopathy is diagnosed in young children, then this is due to a difficult pregnancy or difficult birth in the mother. Timely detection of the disease, as well as its proper treatment, will avoid negative consequences.
Disease classification
Cerebral encephalopathy is different. Depending on the cause that caused the lesion, the following types of changes in tissues are distinguished:
- Discirculatory encephalopathy. It develops as a result of a violation of blood microcirculation. The presented pathology is atherosclerotic, venous and hypertensive. Organic change in the cerebral cortex occurs slowly. The patient in this case does not show symptoms for years.
- Toxic. The impetus for such a pathology is given by a strong intoxication of the body with drugs, training, and constant work with chemical reagents. Alcoholic encephalopathy can also be included in this category.
- Metabolic. Damage to brain tissue occurs as a result of metabolic disorders. With this disease, atrophic changes develop rapidly. This type of organic brain damage is diagnosed in people with excessive body weight, diabetics, patients with vascular atherosclerosis.
- Traumatic. Herthe cause is a concussion or traumatic brain injury. Additionally, cervical osteochondrosis can accelerate the development of pathology. In children, post-traumatic encephalopathy is the result of a complicated birth.
- Infectious. Pathological damage to the soft tissues of the organ occurs under the influence of various pathogens. If this form of the disease is not treated in time, then it has an extremely negative prognosis.
- senile. Such encephalopathy develops as a result of age-related dystrophic degenerative changes in the brain tissues.
Besides, encephalopathy of the brain (which is already clear in an adult) can be acquired and congenital.
Symptoms of disease
Symptoms of cerebral encephalopathy depend on its form. Acquired disease is characterized by the following manifestations:
- Memory dysfunction.
- Problems with concentration (a person is not able to navigate events, becomes distracted).
- Violation of the emotional sphere: the patient's mood changes quickly, he becomes more irritable, tearful.
- Dizzy.
- Headache that can be localized anywhere in the head.
- Violations of fine motor skills, as well as the innervation of the limbs.
- Hand tremor.
- Fatigue.
- A noise in my head.
- Unconscious.
Symptoms of congenital cerebral encephalopathy are quite vivid, butin order to make such a diagnosis, the child needs to conduct a differential examination.
Children may experience seizures when their body temperature rises. Babies who have received organic brain damage do not sleep normally, often spit up, constantly cry. The work of the internal organs slows down, there are problems with the work of the digestive tract, thermoregulation suffers.
Degrees of development of pathology
The presented disease develops gradually over the years. It is possible to distinguish such degrees of encephalopathy of the brain:
- First. At this stage, organic brain damage is not yet so severe, so there are no clinical manifestations. It is very difficult to diagnose a pathology and it turns out completely by chance during instrumental research.
- Cerebral encephalopathy of the 2nd degree. There is a moderate development of pathology. Symptoms are inconsistent, they appear and disappear depending on the situation. At this stage, the disease is difficult to determine in the elderly. The fact is that the symptoms: fatigue, memory impairment, dizziness, and other signs may indicate age-related degenerative processes. Differential diagnosis is important at this stage.
- Third. It is characterized by progressive encephalopathy. In the absence of effective treatment, it leads to disability. Among the symptoms, convulsions, paresis or paralysis of the limbs, neurological disorders can be distinguished. The patient has emotional problems. Over time, the disease becomes severe,characterized by depression and senile dementia.
At any stage of the development of the disease, instrumental diagnostics is important. Laboratory tests to determine the pathology will be uninformative.
Diagnostic features
Before prescribing treatment for cerebral encephalopathy, the patient is given a set of diagnostic measures. It includes:
- Clinical general and biochemical blood and urine tests. Additionally, the level of glucose in the body is determined. The results of such a study will allow you to see metabolic disorders.
- Ultrasound of the arteries located on the neck. Thanks to the procedure, their patency is assessed.
- Transcranial dopplerography. It shows the circulation inside the cranium. This method is safe and very informative. Using this technique, carotid, vertebral arteries are studied.
- Magnetic resonance urography (MRI). Thanks to such a study, a specialist has the opportunity to study the structure of brain tissues in layers, to determine negative changes in them, the presence of blood clots. This technique allows you to establish the possible causes of the development of encephalopathy: tumor processes, cysts.
- Rheoencephalography. The study is carried out to determine the condition of the vascular walls.
- Electroencephalography. Thanks to the technique, the doctor receives data on the functionality of the brain.
- Computed tomography. This method of diagnosing cerebral encephalopathy in the elderly is used if the patient hasthere is a suspicion of its external form. The study may require the introduction of a special marker.
- Vascular angiography using a contrast agent.
In order to maintain the quality of he alth at a high level, it is necessary to deal not only with the symptoms and consequences of the pathology, but also try to eliminate the very cause and its development. Additionally, a specialist can prescribe neurological tests for a person, checking reflexes, and coordination of movements. The mental state of the patient is also assessed.
Medicated treatment
Treatment of cerebral encephalopathy in elderly patients in most cases does not require hospitalization. But it is not always possible to eliminate the advanced stages of pathology at home. If a person has an acute form of the disease, in which there is a risk of a stroke, heart attack or severe somatic disorders, he must be hospitalized.
However, for the patient, this can become an additional negative factor that disrupts the emotional and physical state, so you need to act very carefully in this case.
Treatment of cerebral encephalopathy should be comprehensive. It includes not only the use of medications, but also lifestyle changes. The following groups of drugs can be prescribed to the patient:
- Nootropics: Cerebrolysin, Nootropil.
- Drugs that improve blood circulation in the brain: "Cinnarizine","Kaviton".
- Antihypertensive (if the patient has jumps in blood pressure).
- Lipipidemic drugs: "Clofibrate". They are assigned whether a person is diagnosed with atherosclerosis.
- Antioxidants: "Thiotriazolin".
- Sedative drugs: Glycised, Novopassit.
- Diuretics. Such drugs help reduce swelling in the acute form of pathology.
- Vitamin preparations and biostimulants. They make it possible to accelerate the process of tissue repair.
- In some cases, a percentage need drugs that relieve seizures: "Diazepam".
In addition, physiotherapeutic procedures are prescribed for a person: magnetic therapy, electrophoresis, ultrasound therapy, ozone therapy, acupuncture. Such procedures allow not only to get rid of the symptoms, but to accelerate the regeneration of damaged tissues. In order for the treatment process to be effective, it is necessary to eliminate all negative factors that contribute to the development of organic brain damage.
Folk treatment
Folk recipes will also help eliminate signs of brain encephalopathy. However, their use must be agreed with the doctor. Alternative treatment cannot be considered the only possible way to get rid of pathology. It only reinforces conservative therapy. Self-treatment is fraught with serious consequences: from disability to death. The following recipes will be useful:
- Rosehip decoction. Berries fresh or drythe form is poured into a thermos and poured with boiling water. It will take 2 tbsp. l. fruits and half a liter of water. The drink should be consumed daily. To improve the taste of the liquid, you can add a little honey to it.
- Infusion of hawthorn. Dry raw materials are poured into an enamel pan and poured with hot water for 12 hours. Fresh berries, which can simply be eaten, also have a good effect.
- Propolis. It is necessary to pour 100 g of raw materials with one liter of vodka and insist for 10 days. The liquid should be consumed in 1 tsp. before eating. Previously, the product can be diluted with the same amount of water.
- Mixture of motherwort, lingonberry leaves, valerian. Each component is taken in equal quantities. It will take 1 tbsp. l. mixture and 200 ml of boiling water. Such a medicine is suitable for the treatment of encephalopathy in young children. Give them one dessert spoon 3 times a day.
- Infusion of clover flowers. It is effective for the treatment of cerebral encephalopathy in older adults, as it allows you to get rid of tinnitus. For cooking, take 2 tbsp. l. raw materials and poured 300 ml of boiled water. For insisting like 2 hours. You need to drink half a glass of medicine before each meal.
Folk therapy allows you to enhance the results of medicines. However, before using it, one must take into account possible contraindications, the effect of herbs, as well as side effects that can aggravate the patient's condition.
Nutrition for encephalopathy
In brain encephalopathy, drug treatment is not the only way to deal with the disease. The combination therapy regimen involves changes in lifestyle and nutrition. Without this, it will not be possible to achieve an improvement in the functionality of the organ. In order to get a positive result, the patient's diet must be excluded:
- Foods high in saturated fat and high in cholesterol.
- S alt.
- Flour products.
- Fried, smoked and canned foods.
It is mandatory for a person to give up alcohol, which has a detrimental effect on blood vessels. It is also advisable to say goodbye to cigarettes. These bad habits lead to oxygen starvation of the tissues of the organ, which is why necrotic foci appear in them.
To improve brain activity, it is necessary to consume vegetables and fruits, walnuts as much as possible. Also useful is lean fish, shrimp, corn, rice and peas, carrots, onions, tomatoes, citrus fruits, dairy products. All of them help to clear the arteries, so blood circulation improves.
Complications
To understand the importance of proper therapy, it is necessary to find out why encephalopathy of the brain is dangerous. With prolonged progression of the disease, destroyed tissue areas appear inside the organs, and they are constantly expanding. This situation negatively affects not only the patient's well-being, but also his abilities. The following consequences of cerebral encephalopathy can be distinguished:
- Violation of motor function. If at first the patient develops a tremor of the limbs, then over time it develops into convulsions. The patient simply cannot move independently on the street and even at home. The last stages of the pathology provide for outside assistance to the victim.
- Speech problems. Subsequently, a violation of mental functions in a person significantly reduces vocabulary. His mental activity changes. It becomes difficult for the patient to do the most elementary mathematical calculations, he is not able to build causal relationships.
- Violation of memory. A person cannot navigate in time and space, often forgets what is happening to him, where he is.
Most of these consequences cannot be eliminated, the patient becomes disabled, so it is better not to allow them to occur at all.
Forecast and prevention
The prognosis will be positive if the patient consults a doctor in a timely manner and does not neglect his recommendations. There is no specific prevention of cerebral encephalopathy. In order to reduce the likelihood of developing a congenital type of disease, it is necessary to prevent any complications of pregnancy: oxygen starvation, preeclampsia, Rh conflict. Doctors are obliged to prevent birth trauma in the baby.
To avoid the acquired form, it is necessary to exclude the influence of any negative factors that contribute to damage to brain tissue. Any inflammatory,infectious and viral processes in the body. Do not use excessive amounts of drugs on your own without following the instructions, and also without the knowledge of the doctor.
Required to give up bad habits, in particular drinking and smoking. Proper nutrition plays an important role in the prevention of encephalopathy. The diet should include foods that are easily digestible, contain a large amount of nutrients. Do not abuse cholesterol-containing food.
To prevent diseases associated with circulatory disorders, it is necessary to prevent the development of osteochondrosis of the cervical spine. To do this, do gymnastics daily, as well as massage the indicated zone.
Encephalopathy is a serious disease requiring long-term treatment. It will not be possible to completely get rid of it if foci of dead cells are already present in the brain. Only the right therapy, timely detection of diseases, compliance with the recommendations of competent specialists will help slow down the progression of the pathology.
