Pathophysiology of septic encephalopathy - an unsolved puzzle

Neurochemistry in the Pathophysiology of Septic Encephalopathy

Magnetic resonance imaging abnormalities with septic encephalopathy.

A 48 year old woman, status post renal transplantation six years earlier, died after a two week illness characterised by fever, recurrent seizures, and coma. Widespread abnormalities were seen on neuroimaging. A diagnosis of septic encephalopathy was established on postmortem. We describe the magnetic resonance imaging findings of bilateral basal ganglia, thalamic, cerebellar, brainstem, and ce...

Septic-associated encephalopathy - everything starts at a microlevel

Sepsis-associated encephalopathy is associated with increased mortality and morbidity. Its pathophysiology remains insufficiently elucidated, although there is evidence for a neuroinflammatory process sequentially involving endothelial activation, blood-brain barrier alteration and cellular dysfunction and alteration in neurotransmission. Experimental studies have shown that microcirculatory dy...

Role of Nitric Oxide in Glioblastoma Therapy: Another Step to Resolve the Terrible Puzzle ?

Glioblastoma Multiforme, the most common and aggressive primary brain tumor, remains incurable despite of the advent of modern surgical and medical treatments. This poor prognosis depends by the recurrence after surgery and intrinsic or acquired resistance to chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Nitric oxide is a small molecule that plays a key roles in glioma pathophysiology. Many researches showing...

Inhibition of complement C5a prevents breakdown of the blood-brain barrier and pituitary dysfunction in experimental sepsis

INTRODUCTION Septic encephalopathy secondary to a breakdown of the blood-brain barrier (BBB) is a known complication of sepsis. However, its pathophysiology remains unclear. The present study investigated the effect of complement C5a blockade in preventing BBB damage and pituitary dysfunction during experimental sepsis. METHODS Using the standardised caecal ligation and puncture (CLP) model, ...