Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease ( /ˈkrɔɪtsfɛlt ˈjɑːkoʊb/ KROITS-felt YAH-kohb) or CJD is a degenerative neurological disorder (brain disease) that is incurable and invariably fatal. CJD is at times called a human form of mad cow disease even though classic CJD is not related to bovine spongiform encephalopathy, however, given that bovine spongiform encephalopathy is believed to be the cause of variant Creutzfeldt–Jakob (vCJD) disease in humans, the two...
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Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease ( /ˈkrɔɪtsfɛlt ˈjɑːkoʊb/ KROITS-felt YAH-kohb) or CJD is a degenerative neurological disorder (brain disease) that is incurable and invariably fatal. CJD is at times called a human form of mad cow disease even though classic CJD is not related to bovine spongiform encephalopathy, however, given that bovine spongiform encephalopathy is believed to be the cause of variant Creutzfeldt–Jakob (vCJD) disease in humans, the two are often confused.
Variant CJD (vCJD) is the most common among the types of transmissible spongiform encephalopathy found in humans. In CJD, the brain tissue develops holes and takes on a sponge-like texture. This is due to a type of infectious protein called a prion. Prions are misfolded proteins which replicate by converting their properly folded counterparts.
Types of CJD include:
The first symptom of CJD is rapidly progressive dementia, leading to memory loss, personality changes and hallucinations. This is accompanied by physical...
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