Creutzfeldt-Jacob Disease: Two Case Reports

Abstract

Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD) is characterised by subacute progressive dementia, cerebellar ataxia, myoclonic jerks together with pyramidal and extrapyramidal signs. It is a rare prion disease and definitive diagnosis can only be made by biopsy. It becomes progressively worse and the death is the rule. We presented two CJD cases because of their demonstrative characteristics. A 43 year-old female and a 52 year-old male patient was suspected to be CJD due to presence of subacute severe cognitive deterioration, neuropsychiatric disturbances, myoclonic jerks, ataxia, pyramidal and extrapyramidal signs and also periodic spike and wave complexes in EEG. Patients were lost in a short period of time because of the complications of disease process. Medical autopsy were done in both cases for definitive diagnosis and autopsy results displayed characteristic pathologic findings of CJD. Patients were diagnosed as definitive sporadic CJD according to Master’s, French and European criterias. CJD should be considered in patients with rapidly progressive dementia, that starts with various neuropsychiatric symptoms. Although seen very rare, CJD is a untreatable, fatal disease. Therefore we emphasize that, preventive precaution should be taken when a CJD diagnosis is suspected

Keywords

• Creutzfeldt - Jakob Disease
• subacute dementia
• prion diseases