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Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease

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Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease is a degenerative, rare invariably fatal brain disorder. The disease usually occurs later in life, and the onset of symptoms typically occurs at the ages of fifty to seventy-five. Some of the symptoms that people could face in the early stages are failing memory, visual disturbances, behavioral changes, and lack of coordination. In later stages as the disease progresses you could face blindness, mental deterioration becomes pronounced, and coma could occur. As of today there are no effective treatments, but studies are currently testing different types of antiviral drugs.
Researchers have different ideas to what they believe is the cause of this disease. Some believe that a “slow virus” or a different kind of organism is the reason. While other researchers believe in the scientific theory that states Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease is a result of an abnormal prion protein. Prion proteins are harmless proteins found in our body’s cells, but they can be infectious as well. According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders “both types of prion proteins have the same sequence of amino acids, but the infectious form of the protein takes a different folded shape than the normal protein” (2009:1).
Abnormal prion proteins clump together once they appear, which researchers believe could be the cause for brain damage and neuron loss that is seen in Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease. This disease can also be caused due to inheritance. About five to ten percent of Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease is due to a change or mutation in the gene. Mutations can be transmitted to a person’s offspring if the prion protein is altered in the person’s sperm or egg. As stated by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders “All mutat...

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...resistant PrP and PrP oligomers in the brain in human prion diseases after intraventricular pentosan polysulfate infusion. Neuropathology, 32(2), 124-132. doi:10.1111/j.1440-1789.2011.01245.x

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Mayo Clinic staff. (2013, July 13). Creutzfeldt-jakob disease treatments and drugs. Retrieved from http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/creutzfeldt-jakob-disease/DS00531/DSECTION=symptoms

National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke National Institutes of
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(2013, June 06). Creutzfeldt-jakob disease fact sheet. Retrieved from http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/cjd/detail_cjd.htm

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