Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (Mad cow disease)

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Definition

Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD), related to mad cow disease, is a degenerative brain disorder that eventually leads to dementia. Symptoms of CJD sometimes resemble those of other dementia-like brain disorders, such as Alzheimer's, but Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease usually progresses much more rapidly.

Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease captured public attention in the 1990s when individuals in the United Kingdom developed a form of the disease — variant CJD (vCJD) — after eating meat from cattle suspected of having mad cow disease. However, "classic" Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease has not been linked to beef contaminated with mad cow disease.

Although serious, CJD is rare. Worldwide, doctors typically diagnose one case of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease per million people each year, most commonly in older adults. Treatment of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease focuses on relieving symptoms and maximizing comfort.

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Symptoms