Many patients present to a neurologist due to rapidly progressive dementia (RPD). One rare etiology is Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease (CJD), a neurological disorder that occurs in one to two people per one million population. It is caused by abnormal folding of brain prions, and approximately 85% of cases are sporadic. Other presenting symptoms can include ataxia, myoclonus, hallucinations, and seizures, but CJD can have an atypical presentation as well. Although most clinicians may only see one case during their career, we had a unique opportunity to study five patients with CJD in our community hospital. This report presents a focused literature review with up-to-date information and raises awareness of the disease presentation, diagnostic testing, and differential diagnoses for patients with rapidly progressive dementia. Important workup for patients with rapidly progressive dementia includes brain MRI, EEG, and CSF studies for 14-3-3, tau protein, and RT-QuIC.
doi: 10.17756/jnen.2022-095
Citation: Bawa AP, Zhang Y. 2022. Creutzfeldt- Jakob Disease: A Focused Literature Review and Retrospective Case Series of Five Patients from a Community Hospital. J Neurol Exp Neurosci 8(1): 13-17.
Downloads