| Drowning stars: reassessing the role of astrocytes in brain edema Sep 15th 2014, 00:00, by Alexander S. Thrane, Vinita Rangroo Thrane, Maiken Nedergaard Brain edema is a potentially fatal accumulation of fluid within the brain tissue, which can be caused by a range of medical conditions, including stroke, traumatic brain injury (TBI), brain tumors or metastases, meningitis, brain abscesses, water intoxication, altitude sickness, malignant hypertension, hypoglycemia, and metabolic encephalopathies [1]. In the current review, we will primarily discuss the acute causes of brain edema and refer to other texts for coverage on more chronic conditions such as peri-tumor edema [2,3]. |
