It belongs to a group of human and animal diseases known as prion disorders. Symptoms of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease can be similar to those of Alzheimer's disease. But Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease usually gets worse much faster and leads to death. Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease CJD received public attention in the s when some people in the United Kingdom became sick with a form of the disease.
However, most cases of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease haven't been linked to eating beef. All types of CJD are serious but are very rare. About 1 to 2 cases of CJD are diagnosed per million people around the world each year. The disease most often affects older adults. Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease is marked by changes in mental abilities. Symptoms get worse quickly, usually within several weeks to a few months. Early symptoms include:. Death usually occurs within a year.
People with Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease usually die of medical issues associated with the disease. They might include having trouble swallowing, falls, heart issues, lung failure, or pneumonia or other infections. In people with variant CJD , changes in mental abilities may be more apparent in the beginning of the disease.
In many cases, dementia develops later in the illness. Symptoms of dementia include the loss of the ability to think, reason and remember. Variant CJD appears to last 12 to 14 months. Another rare form of prion disease is called variably protease-sensitive prionopathy VPSPr. It can mimic other forms of dementia. It causes changes in mental abilities and problems with speech and thinking. The course of the disease is longer than other prion diseases β about 24 months. Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease and related conditions appear to be caused by changes to a type of protein called a prion.
These proteins are typically produced in the body. But when they encounter infectious prions, they fold and become another shape that's not typical. They can spread and affect processes in the body. Prions are proteins that occur naturally in the brains of animals and people. Normally, the proteins are harmless, but when they're misshapen, they can cause devastating illnesses such as disease in cattle and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in humans. The risk of getting CJD is low. The disease can't be spread through coughing or sneezing.
