CJD? I've never heard of it. What is it????

Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease [CJD] may have greater public health consequences than the suspected number of confirmed cases might indicate. CJD is not reportable in most states and is often misdiagnosed or omitted from death certificates. While the infectivity can be reduced, it is extremely difficult to kill these infectious agents. Normal sterilization procedures do not eliminate contamination.

WHAT IS IT????

Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) is a rare, degenerative, invariably fatal brain disorder. It affects about one person in every one million people per year worldwide; in the United States there are about 200 cases per year. CJD usually appears in later life and runs a rapid course. Typically, onset of symptoms occurs about age 60, and about 90 percent of patients die within 1 year. In the early stages of disease, patients may have failing memory, behavioral changes, lack of coordination and visual disturbances. As the illness progresses, mental deterioration becomes pronounced and involuntary movements, blindness, weakness of extremities, and coma may occur.

There are THREE MAJOR CATEGORIES of CJD:

In SPORADIC CJD, the disease appears even though the person has no known risk factors for the disease. This is by far the most common type of CJD and accounts for at least 85 percent of cases.

HEREDITARY CJD, the person has a family history of the disease and/or tests positive for a genetic mutation associated with CJD. About 5 to 10 percent of cases of CJD in the United States are hereditary.

In ACQUIRED CJD, the disease is transmitted by exposure to brain or nervous system tissue, usually through certain medical procedures. There is no evidence that CJD is contagious through casual contact with a CJD patient. Since CJD was first described in 1920, fewer than 1 percent of cases have been acquired CJD.

Don't you wish you knew more? Your support would help to make sure more research is performed to find answers to this horrible and mysterious disease. Please help!

Thanks,
Lacy