Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease

Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease: Introduction

Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD) is a rare 1-in-a-million disease that occurs spontaneously, with 10-15% inheritance, and unrelated to animal diseases. It usually leads to dementia.

CJD is a rare brain disease in humans caused by abnormal brain proteins (prions). It is similar to the various transmissible spongiform encephalopathies that afflict animals including "mad cow disease". Unfortunately, prognosis for CJD is poor as there are no effective treatments against prions. CJD is not usually contagious, except rarely by direct exposure to the brain (such as brain surgery).

Because CJD is rare it is often misdiagnosed as other brain-related diseases. Common misdiagnoses include Alzheimer's disease, motor neurone disease, ALS, Picks disease, Multi infarct Disease, and metabolic encephalopathies.

Symptoms of Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease

• Dementia - rapidly progressive
• Memory failure
• Muscular coordination problems
• Personality changes
• Impaired judgment
• more symptoms...»

See full list of 38 symptoms of Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease

Home Diagnostic Testing

Home medical testing related to Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease:

• Brain & Neurological Disorders: Related Home Testing:
  • ADHD -- Home Tests
  • Drug Screening Kits
• more tests...»

Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease: Complications

Review possible medical complications related to Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease:

• Coma
• Death
• Infections - can be dangerous
• Death usually within 10 years and 10-16 months for invective cases
• more complications...»

Medical Textbooks Online about Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease

Book excerpts: Copyright © 2008 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. All rights reserved.

Less Common Symptoms of Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease

• Positive Babinski
• more symptoms...»

Read more about symptoms of Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease

Diagnostic Tests for Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease

• There are no good diagnostic tests for CJD, but rather a process of ruling out other diagnoses
• Spinal tap - rules out other causes
• Electroencephalogram (EEG) - rules out other causes
• MRI brain scans
• Brain biopsy
• more tests...»

See full list of 6 diagnostic tests for Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease

Wrongly Diagnosed with Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease?

• Misdiagnosis of Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease
• Failure to diagnose Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease
• Hidden causes of Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (possibly wrongly diagnosed)
• Undiagnosed: Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease

Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease: Self Assessment Tools

• Stroke -- Self Assessment Tools
• more tools...»

Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease: Marketplace Products, Discounts & Offers

Products, offers and promotion categories available for Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease:

• Stroke
• Brain
• more product offers...»

Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease: Undiagnosed Conditions

Commonly undiagnosed diseases in related medical categories:

• Brain & Neurological Disorders: Undiagnosed:
  • Adult ADHD -- Undiagnosed - ADHD can be undiagnosed in adults.
  • ADHD -- Undiagnosed
  • Alzheimer Disease -- Undiagnosed
  • Migraine -- Undiagnosed
  • Concentration Disorders -- Undiagnosed
  • Stroke -- Undiagnosed
  • Bipolar Disorder -- Undiagnosed
  • Schizophrenia -- Undiagnosed
  • Epilepsy -- Undiagnosed
• more undiagnosed conditions...»

Misdiagnosis and Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease

Undiagnosed stroke leads to misdiagnosed aphasia: BBC News UK reported on a man who had been institutionalized and treated for mental illness...read more »

Dementia may be a drug interaction: A common scenario in aged care is for a patient to show mental decline to dementia. Whereas this can, of course, occur due to various medical conditions,...read more »

Mild traumatic brain injury often remains undiagnosed: Although the symptoms of severe brain injury are hard to miss, it is less clear for milder...read more »

MTBI misdiagnosed as balance problem: When a person has symptoms such as vertigo or dizziness, a diagnosis of brain injury may go overlooked. This is particularly true of mild traumatic brain injury (MTBI), for which the...read more »

Brain pressure condition often misdiagnosed as dementia: A condition that results from an excessive pressure of CSF within the brain is often misdiagnosed. It may be misdiagnosed as Parkinson's disease or dementia ...read more »

Post-concussive brain injury often misdiagnosed: A study found that soldiers who had suffered a concussive injury in battle often were misdiagnosed on their return. A variety of symptoms...read more »

Children with migraine often misdiagnosed: A migraine often fails to be correctly diagnosed in pediatric patients. These patients are not the typical migraine sufferers, but migraines can also occur in children. See misdiagnosis of...read more »

Read more about Misdiagnosis and Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease

Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease: Research Doctors & Specialists

Research related physicians and medical specialists:

• Neurology (Brain/CNS Specialists):
  • Neurology (Brain/CNS Specialists)
  • Pediatric Neurology (Child Brain Specialist)
  • Pediatric Neurosurgery (Child Neurosurgeon)
  • Clinical Neurophysiology
  • Neurodevelopment Disabilities
  • Neurosurgery (Brain Surgery)
  • Neuromusculoskeletal Medicine (Nerve/Muscle/Bone Specialists)
  • Neuroradiology
  • Vascular Neurology
  • Neuropathology
  • Otology / Neurotology (Ear/Hearing Specialists)
• Stroke & Vascular Specialists:
  • Vascular Neurology (Brain Blood Vessels)
  • Vascular & Interventional Radiology
  • Vascular Surgery (Blood Vessel Surgeon)
  • Neuropathology (Brain Diagnostics)
• Senior Health Specialists (Geriatrics):
  • Geriatric Medicine (Senior Health Specialist)
  • Geriatric Psychiatry (Senior Mental Health)
• more specialists...»

Other doctor, physician and specialist research services:

• Rate Your Doctor Online
• Research Your Doctor Online
• Review Patient Surveys About Your Doctor
• Research local specialists including ratings, affiliations, and sanctions.

Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease: Rare Types

Rare types of diseases and disorders in related medical categories:

• Brain & Neurological Disorders: Rare Types:
  • Adult ADHD -- Rare Types
  • ADHD -- Rare Types
  • Alzheimer Disease -- Rare Types
  • Migraine -- Rare Types
  • Concentration Disorders -- Rare Types
  • Stroke -- Rare Types
  • Bipolar Disorder -- Rare Types
  • Schizophrenia -- Rare Types
  • Epilepsy -- Rare Types
• more rare diseases...»

Causes of Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease

Read more about causes of Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease.

More information about causes of Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease:

• Medical news summaries relating to Causes of Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease
• Cause statistics for Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease

Treatments for Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease

• Opiate drugs - pain relief
• Clonazepam - for myoclonus
• Sodium valproate - for myoclonus
• more treatments...»

Read more about treatments for Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease

News Archives for Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease

Medical news articles related to Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease include:

• Device Helps Spinal Patients Breathe Without Ventilator
• more health news...»

Source: HealthDay News

Evidence Based Medicine Research for Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease

Medical research articles related to Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease include:

• Efficacy of RTS,S/AS01E Vaccine against Malaria in Children 5 to 17 Months of Age.
• Infection control in anaesthesia
• Guidelines on Decontamination of Equipment for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy
• Buyers' guide: Laryngeal masks
• Systematic review of therapeutic interventions in human prion disease
• History of blood transfusion
• Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease
• more research...»

Click here to find more evidence-based articles on the TRIP Database

Videos for Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease

Patient Surveys for Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease

• Patient Profile Survey
  Take Survey  View Results
• Survey about the symptoms of your Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease
  Take Survey  View Results

Prognosis for Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease

Prognosis for Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease: Poor. Typically death within 12 months.

More about prognosis of Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease

Reseach about Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease

Visit our research pages for current research about Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease treatments.

Clinical Trials for Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease

The US based website ClinicalTrials.gov lists information on both federally and privately supported clinical trials using human volunteers.

Some of the clinical trials listed on ClinicalTrials.gov for Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease include:

• CJD (Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease) Quinacrine Study - This study is currently recruiting patients (Current: 23 Nov 2006) - Quinacrine
• PRION-1: Quinacrine for Human Prion Disease - This study is currently recruiting patients (Current: 23 Nov 2006) - Quinacrine
• more trials...»

Read more about Clinical Trials for Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease

Statistics for Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease

• Medical statistics for Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease
• Prevalence and incidence statistics for Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease
• Death and Mortality statistics for Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease
• Society statistics for Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease

Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease: Broader Related Topics

• Prion diseases
• Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathy
• Brain conditions
• more types...»

Types of Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease

Types of Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease

• Sporadic CJD - no family history, about 85% of cases
• Hereditary CJD - genetic family history, 5-10%
• Variant CJD - believed to be related to BSE
• Acquired CJD - exposure to brain products, less than 1% of cases
• more types...»

Read more about Types of Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease

Stories from Users Related to Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease

• Sporadic dizziness/disorientation/nausea
• Severe Sporadic Diffuse Pain Everywhere
• Spinal Tenderness and Tingling
• Doctors say I have three different hereditary disease
• spinal menegitis after effects
• serious sporadic bleeding
• How accurate is the spinal tap results for MS?
• Spinal Tenderness and Tingling
• Creutzfeld Jakobs Disease
• Spinal Degeneration
• Cartilage degeneration at 28yrs old
• Acquired Nystagmus?
• Jacobs Syndrome/ xyy Syndrome
• Jacob Creutzfeld desease
• Spinal Tap
• Mrs Jacobs
• Spinal Tenderness and Tingling
• Creutzfeld-Jacob Disease Need Help
• Spinal and Sholder Inflammation
• Is this hereditary?

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User Interactive Forums

Read about other experiences, ask a question about Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease, or answer someone else's question, on our message boards:

• I can not get a diagnosis. Please help.
• Tell us your medical story.
• Share your misdiagnosis story.
• What is the best treatment for this?
• See all the forums.

Article Excerpts about Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease

Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease Fact Sheet: NINDS (Excerpt)

Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) is a rare, degenerative, invariably fatal brain disorder. It affects about one person in every one million people per year worldwide; in the United States there are about 200 cases per year. CJD usually appears in later life and runs a rapid course. Typically, onset of symptoms occurs about age 60, and about 90 percent of patients die within 1 year. In the early stages of disease, patients may have failing memory, behavioral changes, lack of coordination and visual disturbances. As the illness progresses, mental deterioration becomes pronounced and involuntary movements, blindness, weakness of extremities, and coma may occur. (Source: excerpt from Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease Fact Sheet: NINDS)

NINDS Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease Information Page: NINDS (Excerpt)

Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) is a rare, degenerative, invariably fatal brain disorder. Typically, onset of symptoms occurs at about age 60. (Source: excerpt from NINDS Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease Information Page: NINDS)

Facts About Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease: CDC-OC (Excerpt)

Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD) is a progressive neurological disorder which belongs to a group of degenerative neurologic diseases known as subacute spongiform encephalopathies. (Source: excerpt from Facts About Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease: CDC-OC)

Definitions of Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease:

A rare transmissible encephalopathy most prevalent between the ages of 50 and 70 years. Affected individuals may present with sleep disturbances, personality changes, ATAXIA; APHASIA, visual loss, weakness, muscle atrophy, MYOCLONUS, progressive dementia, and death within one year of disease onset. A familial form exhibiting autosomal dominant inheritance and a new variant CJD (potentially associated with ENCEPHALOPATHY, BOVINE SPONGIFORM) have been described. Pathological features include prominent cerebellar and cerebral cortical spongiform degeneration and the presence of PRIONS. (From N Engl J Med, 1998 Dec 31;339(27)) - (Source - Diseases Database)

Rare (usually fatal) brain disease (usually in middle age) caused by an unidentified slow virus; characterized by progressive dementia and gradual loss of muscle control - (Source - WordNet 2.1)

Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease is listed as a "rare disease" by the Office of Rare Diseases (ORD) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). This means that Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease, or a subtype of Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease, affects less than 200,000 people in the US population.
Source - National Institutes of Health (NIH)

Ophanet, a consortium of European partners, currently defines a condition rare when it affects 1 person per 2,000. They list Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease as a "rare disease".
Source - Orphanet