Progressive dialysis encephalopathy ("dialysis dementia").

Sixty cases of distinctive progressive and fatal encephalopathy have been reported in patients undergoing long-term hemodialysis. An analysis of their records reveals that mean duration of hemodialysis prior to onset is 2.5 years, while mean duration of clinical course until death is 6.3 months. The most frequent clinical manifestations include disturbances in communication (87%), cognition (66%) and movement (93%). Nonspecific electroencephalographic abnormalities are present in all cases. The condition is possibly related to some yet unidentified metabolic disorder. There is no effective therapy.