Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease - a literature review

Abstract

Background: Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) is a progressive, rare, fatal and rapid human neurodegenerative disease that occurs in the etiologies: sporadic (CJD), familial, iatrogenic (CJD) and CJD variant (CJV) in which cell prion protein (PrP) can be transmitted through animals. Objectives: Literature review about Creutzfeldt-Jakob diseaseDesign and setting: Literature review development in the Centro Universitário de Volta Redonda, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Methods: The Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, infectious diseases and neuroinfection indexes were used in the PUBMED and Scielo databases. Results:CJD has different etiologies with different clinical and pathological phenotypes. CJDV shows psychiatric behaviors and symptoms followed by abnormalities, ataxia and dementia. The sporadic form is the most common, with a progressive clinical course with generalized brain deposition of abnormal prion protein aggregates (PrPTSE) that leads to spongiform change, gliosis and neuronal loss. CJD progresses to dementia and two or more symptoms: cerebellar or visual impairments; pyramidal or extrapyramidal signs; myoclonus; and akinetic mutism. Complex periods of acute wave in the electroencephalogram (EEG) are strongly suggestive of prionic diseases. Rapidly evolving field neuroimmune disorders have shown an increasing in autoantibody testing; attempt to diagnose a range of immune-mediated conditions. Evidence indicates that diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (DWI) is more sensitive for detecting signal abnormalities. Conclusion: The disease progresses to dementia, accompanied by myoclonus, pyramidal signs and characteristic EEG. It is a complex pathology, which has only symptomatic treatment and requires strict control of reservoirs and risk of contamination.