ABSTRACT

Creutzfeldt-Jacob Disease (CJD) is a rare neurodegenerative disorder. This study is a review of clinical findings and diagnostic procedures used for 16 patients diagnosed with sporadic CJD (sCJD) at Ankara University School of Medicine.

Medical records of 16 patients who were diagnosed with sCJD between January 1990 and January 2015 were analyzed. Clinical features, periodic sharp and slow wave complexes (PSSW) in electroencephalography (EEG), finding of 14-3-3 protein in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of all patients were assessed.

Study included 16 patients with sCJD: 6 females (37.5%) and 10 males (62.5%), with mean age 64±9.5 years. All patients had dementia and myoclonus; 14 patients had extrapyramidal or pyramidal signs, 13 had cerebellar (n=10) and/or visual signs (n=6), and 10 patients had akinetic mutism. PSSW were present in EEG of 13 patients. Brain MRI of 13 patients showed abnormalities and 14-3-3 protein was detected in CSF of 6 of 7 patients. Within an average period of 3 months from the onset of signs, 9 hospitalized patients died.

It is important to consider diagnosis of sCJD in patients with rapidly progressive dementia.

Keywords: 14-3-3 protein, Creutzfeldt-Jacob disease, periodic sharp and slow wave complexes