Cerebral edema (None commonly used)

Cerebral edema refers to the abnormal accumulation of fluid within either intracellular or extracellular compartments of the brain tissue. This leads to increased intracranial pressure which can impair nerve function and cause symptoms ranging from headache and nausea to seizures and coma; severe cases may result in death if untreated. The underlying mechanisms include disruption of blood-brain barrier integrity ("vasogenic"), cellular energy failure leading to ionic imbalance ("cytotoxic"), osmotic shifts ("osmotic"), or cerebrospinal fluid leakage into interstitial spaces ("interstitial"). Causes include trauma, ischemia/stroke, tumors, infections/inflammation, metabolic disturbances such as hyponatremia/hepatic failure, high altitude exposure among others. Management depends on etiology but often involves supportive care with airway protection and ICP monitoring plus medical/surgical interventions aimed at reducing brain volume/swelling through osmotherapy (mannitol/hypertonic saline), steroids where appropriate (tumor/inflammatory causes), surgical decompression when necessary—and experimental therapies targeting molecular mediators like ion channels involved in BBB dysfunction are under investigation.

Other names

Brain swellingCerebral oedema (British spelling)Intracranial swelling

For drugs used: Osmotherapy increases plasma osmolality to draw water out of brain parenchyma into circulation. Steroids reduce blood-brain barrier permeability and inflammation. Diuretics promote systemic fluid loss. Experimental: Inhibition of specific ion channels/receptors implicated in BBB breakdown or astrocyte swelling (e.g., SUR1–TRPM4).