Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease

CJD is a rare and fatal disease.

Symptoms

The sufferer experiences loss of muscle control, personality changes, and failing memory.As the illness gets worse, blindness, involuntary movements, weakness, and even coma may occur. This fatal disease usually claims its victim's life within a year. (Kurland and Lupoff, 1999, p. 84)

Cause

Recent recearch indicates a hazardous protein called prion as being responsible for the destruction this illness causes. The illness can begin genetically, through infection, or sporadically. There is no diagnostic test for CJD, except process of elimination. The only way to confirm the diagnosis is by brain biopsy or autopsy.

Scope

CJD affects both males and females, typically around age sixty. Approximately one incident per million people worldwide is recorded each year.

Treatment

Unfortuntately, there is no known way to cure or to control CJD. Medication can help relieve pain and / or involuntary muscle jerks.