How to Use encephalopathy in a Sentence

encephalopathy

noun
  • All of the precautions lessen the risk of bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or mad cow disease.
    — Mary Clare Jalonick, The Seattle Times, 12 June 2017
  • The encephalopathy had lessened, doctors determined, and she had been moved from intensive care to a private room.
    — Ryan Osborne, star-telegram.com, 5 June 2017
  • Deer now had their own transmissible spongiform encephalopathy.
    — John Fauber, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 6 July 2017
  • The cows developed a prion disease of their own, called bovine spongiform encephalopathy, nicknamed mad cow disease.
    — Carl Zimmer, New York Times, 26 June 2017
  • The cause was acute encephalopathy as a result of dementia, said a daughter, Nancy Skinner.
    — Washington Post, 24 Feb. 2018
  • But there is no reliable test to detect the injury, called chronic traumatic encephalopathy, in its earliest stages.
    — Lawrence K. Altman, M.d., New York Times, 29 May 2017
  • The patients who come in with encephalopathy are confused and lethargic and may appear dazed, exhibiting strange behavior or staring off into space.
    — Roni Caryn Rabin, New York Times, 1 Apr. 2020
  • Kalani has hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy, a form of brain injury that affects muscle tone and mobility.
    — Eva Remijan-Toba, Chicago Tribune, 10 Jan. 2026
  • He was diagnosed with post-traumatic encephalopathy, a brain injury that damaged his motor control center.
    — oregonlive, 3 June 2021
  • Rouse suffers from toxic encephalopathy and has been denied workers' compensation.
    — Leah Sottile, Washington Post, 10 May 2017
  • Boehme has Hashimoto's encephalopathy, a rare disorder affecting the brain, which began at age 16.
    — Ryan Prior, CNN, 21 Aug. 2020
  • The most frequent manifestations were muscle pain, headaches, encephalopathy and dizziness.
    — Ivana Kottasová, CNN, 7 Oct. 2020
  • Bausch was working on a treatment for hepatic encephalopathy, a condition where toxins build up in the blood, hurting brain function, in patients with liver disease.
    — Christina Cheddar Berk,liz Napolitano, CNBC, 23 Jan. 2026
  • During hepatic encephalopathy, the liver fails to break down alcohol, letting excess amounts of manganese and ammonia enter the brain.
    — Kelly Santana Banks, Discover Magazine, 23 Feb. 2023
  • The warrant said the boy suffered from severe medical issues including hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy, a defect caused by lack of oxygen and blood flow around the time of birth.
    — Fox News, 7 Aug. 2018
  • The cause was encephalopathy, said a friend and professional colleague, Elizabeth Edmonds.
    — Washington Post, 4 Mar. 2020
  • Hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy or HIE is a type of brain damage that occurs when an infant’s brain doesn’t receive enough oxygen and blood.
    — Daniel Chang, miamiherald, 28 Apr. 2017
  • Gentry said kids with severe forms of autism were paid for encephalopathy until the government revised the definition in the mid-1990s.
    — Erin Mansfield, USA Today, 11 Dec. 2025
  • The heavy and prolonged use of alcohol — which can harm the liver, causing liver disease — may also give rise to a critical brain disorder called hepatic encephalopathy.
    — Kelly Santana Banks, Discover Magazine, 23 Feb. 2023
  • Eastern equine encephalopathy, a deadly virus that has sickened dozens of Americans in an unusually active outbreak, is spread to humans by what animal?
    — CNN, 10 Oct. 2019
  • The most common neurological conditions reported were seizures, either with or without fever and encephalopathy - an umbrella term for brain damage.
    — Victoria Forster, Forbes, 12 Aug. 2022
  • These are severe disorders presenting in early infancy or childhood with profound weakness, encephalopathy, seizures and liver failure.
    — Lindsey Bever, Washington Post, 3 July 2017
  • Last flu season, dozens of children were diagnosed with acute necrotizing encephalopathy, a complication from the flu that causes brain damage and can hamper a child’s development.
    — Grant Stringer, Mercury News, 30 Jan. 2026
  • Months later, she was diagnosed with encephalopathy, including some features of autism spectrum disorder, caused by a mitochondrial enzyme deficit.
    — Judy Stone, Forbes.com, 3 Sep. 2025
  • Hepatic encephalopathy is a serious decline in brain function caused by severe liver disease, according to the Mayo Clinic.
    — Ashlyn Robinette, PEOPLE, 16 Apr. 2026
  • Doctors at Mass General Hospital were able to diagnose her with acute necrotizing encephalopathy, a rare illness linked to the flu that causes the brain to swell and for the body to kill brain cells.
    — Logan Hall, CBS News, 8 Jan. 2026
  • Still, the Boston University study that showed signs of chronic traumatic encephalopathy in all but one of the 111 brains examined postmortem was eye-opening.
    — Dave Birkett, Detroit Free Press, 28 Aug. 2017
  • The official cause of death was hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy, cardiopulmonary arrest, and respiratory failure, the family said.
    — Mari A. Schaefer, Philly.com, 25 June 2018
  • She was deprived of oxygen in the womb or at birth, resulting in developmental delays and motor impairment associated with hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy.
    — Carrie Blackmore Smith, Cincinnati.com, 18 Dec. 2017
  • Malnutrition and deficiency in the B vitamin thiamin can lead to a brain disorder called Wernicke’s encephalopathy, which can result in miscarriage, brain damage and death.
    — Alice Callahan, New York Times, 14 Mar. 2023

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'encephalopathy.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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