Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease

Abstract

Creutzfeldt⁃Jakob disease (CJD) is a degenerative central nervous system (CNS) disease caused by infection of prion protein (PrP), with clinical features including short course, rapid development and 100% mortality. This article aims to discuss the pathogenesis, histopathological features, clinical manifestations, electroencephalogram (EEG) findings, imaging data and treatment progress of this disease based on literature review. Cerebrospinal fluid 14⁃3⁃3 protein detection, EEG and MRI are three important methods to make an early diagnosis on patients with suspected CJD, such as elderly patients with rapidly progressive dementia (RPD) and young patients with mental symptoms involving multiple systems (MS).