encephalopathy

en·ceph·a·lop·a·thy  (n-sf-lp-th)

n. pl. en·ceph·a·lop·a·thies

Any of various diseases of the brain.

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en·cepha·lo·pathic (-l-pthk) adj.

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encephalopathy  (n-sf-lp-th)

Degeneration of brain function, caused by any of various acquired disorders, including metabolic disease, organ failure, inflammation, and chronic infection.

Thesaurus

Noun

1.

encephalopathy - any disorder or disease of the brain brain disease, brain disorder nervous disorder, neurological disease, neurological disorder - a disorder of the nervous system epilepsy - a disorder of the central nervous system characterized by loss of consciousness and convulsions apraxia - inability to make purposeful movements paralysis agitans, Parkinson's, Parkinson's disease, Parkinson's syndrome, Parkinsonism, shaking palsy - a degenerative disorder of the central nervous system characterized by tremor and impaired muscular coordination cerebral palsy, spastic paralysis - a loss or deficiency of motor control with involuntary spasms caused by permanent brain damage present at birth agraphia, anorthography, logagraphia - a loss of the ability to write or to express thoughts in writing because of a brain lesion acataphasia - a disorder in which a lesion to the central nervous system leaves you unable to formulate a statement or to express yourself in an organized manner aphasia - inability to use or understand language (spoken or written) because of a brain lesion agnosia - inability to recognize objects by use of the senses CJD, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, Jakob-Creutzfeldt disease - rare (usually fatal) brain disease (usually in middle age) caused by an unidentified slow virus; characterized by progressive dementia and gradual loss of muscle control Reye's syndrome - acquired encephalopathy following acute viral infections (especially influenza or chicken pox) in young children; characterized by fever, vomiting, disorientation, coma, and fatty infiltration of the liver Wernicke's encephalopathy - inflammatory degenerative disease of the brain caused by thiamine deficiency that is usually associated with alcoholism