If anything goes wrong with the brain, there are so many problems to manifest, it is actually mind-boggling, no pun intended. Since we know the brain as the seat of the mind, you can definitely see the manifestations of encephalomalacia right when they are pointed out.
This is one of those diseases which can occur at any age and it is a degenerative disease. As a result, there is no lasting cure or treatments available. Instead, there are ways to treat and manage it all without a cure.
The Symptoms of Encephalomalacia
This is a brain disorder. It is a serious disease sometimes known as “brain-softening” disease. By no standards does that sound like good news and it is not. There is no relation to other diseases of the brain such as Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s diseases. Unfortunately, there are very little treatments available.
Brain cells die off quickly in this situation. In that sense, it is a degenerative disease, but not progressive in the usual sense. The symptoms are less than favorable no matter what. What is encephalomalacia? It is a serious disease with no real cure.
Commonly, there is dizziness moving into extreme vertigo, mental problems, blindness and headache, all leading up to a coma in the worst cases.
There are a number of other neurological diseases such as encephalitis which cause similar symptoms. If you ever see any of these symptoms in yourself, or loved ones, you must immediately retain the services of a good physician.
Diagnosis
This is predominately a pediatric disease, and so much of the diagnosis is upon the pediatric physicians who are capable of at least providing a preliminary diagnosis. Once this diagnosis is made, this doctor will most likely hand the case over to a more specialized physician.
Initially, it will take the pediatrician to make the call. They will then refer to a specialist, such as a neurological expert to make the final diagnosis. This is typically done with diagnostic tools such as CT scans or MRI scans. In this way, the exact damage can be determined.
Causes and Treatments
A few different causes are suspected for encephalomalacia. Primarily, it is involved with circulatory disorders such as strokes, ischemia, cerebral hemorrhages, traumatic brain injuries, cysts, and tumors. While there are still other potential causes, these are the leaders.
There are no treatments which will lead to any kind of cure or lasting relief. Since a portion of the brain has basically died off, it may be necessary to remove this portion of the brain. Other management methods may be used as well.
For the most part, the treatments are just symptomatic, though a cure is just on the horizon, according to experts. This is currently all that can be done. There are some other considerations as well. With this being a disease that can occur at any age, it should be regarded as such.
Strokes can be a cause and thus, treatments for stroke can be effective and, if the damage is not too extensive, the damaged areas can be compensated for to a degree.
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