Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease Mimicking Wernicke Encephalopathy

Abstract

Background: Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) is the prototype of a family of rare and fatal human degenerative conditions characterized by rapidly progressive dementia, myoclonus and akinetic mutism. Methods: A 70-year-old man with a long history of alcoholism was admitted to the hospital due to acute onset confusion, delirium, bilateral lateral gaze palsy, and gait disturbance. He was administered intravenously with thiamine for 10 days under suspicion of Wernicke encephalopathy, but there was no improvement of clinical symptoms. On the 11th day after admission, the patient presented with myoclonus, apathy and akinetic mutism. His cerebrospinal fluid was positive for 14-3-3 protein. The patient was finally diagnosed as probable Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. Conclusion: We reported a case of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease mimicking Wernicke encephalopathy.

Keywords

• Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease
• Wernicke encephalopathy