New variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease is a novel human prion disorder with characteristic clinical and neuropathological features, which results from exposure to the bovine spongiform encephalopathy agent. The probably lengthy incubation period makes it difficult to predict future new variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease case numbers; further studies are required to clarify risk factors and the po...

Since 1996 with the recognition of a variant form, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease has become more prominent in the medical literature. Of particular interest to anaesthetists is the risk of iatrogenic spread of the disease. In this article, the relevant literature is reviewed and the experience within New Zealand examined. The presentation, pathology and incidence of the disease is reviewed and the ...

Variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease is almost certainly caused by the bovine spongiform encephalopathy agent, and although the disease is rare (115 deaths to date) there is uncertainty about future numbers of cases. The lack of a conventional immune response and the inability to detect abnormal prion protein in blood has hampered the development of a blood test. Lymphoreticular accumulation of pr...

Sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease is considered primarily a disease of grey matter, although the extent of white matter involvement has not been well described. We used diffusion tensor imaging to study the white matter in sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease compared to healthy control subjects and to correlated magnetic resonance imaging findings with histopathology. Twenty-six patients with s...

1 Collinge J. Variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. Lancet 1999;354:317-23. 2 Schreuder BEC, van Keulen LJM, Vromans MEW, Langeveld JPM, Smits MA. Preclinical test for prion diseases. Nature 1996;381:563. 3 Hill AF, Butterworth RJ, Joiner S, Jackson G, Rosser MN, Thomas DJ, et al. Investigation of variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease and other human prion disease with tonsil biopsy samples. Lancet 19...

Nation-wide surveillance of human transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (also known as prion diseases), the most common being Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, is performed by the Australian National Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease Registry, based at the University of Melbourne. Prospective surveillance has been undertaken since 1993 and over this dynamic period in transmissible spongiform encephalopath...

Introduction Although Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) is rare, its rapid course, its infection control implications and the link between bovine spongiform encephalopathy and variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD) make this disease relevant to all clinicians. The emergence of vCJD has prompted an explosion in the amount of research into the disorder, leading to new developments in both diagnos...

Background. Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease is a rare disorder of the central nervous system. Its initial diagnosis may be obscured by its variable presentation. This case report illustrates the complexity of diagnosing this disease early in the clinical course, especially when the initial symptoms may be psychiatric. It offers a brief review of the literature and reinforces a role for consultation p...