BASIC FACTS ABOUT CJD (1)
Rapidly progressive brain disease
- loss of intellectual abilities (dementia)
- behaviour disturbances and altered mood
- motor signs (incoordination, jerking etc)
Microscopic examination of brain tissue shows sponge-like appearance: hence “spongiform encephalopathy”
May be inherited (15%), or transmitted
In a small number of cases it is known to have been transmitted as an infection from other humans
Rare - less than 60 cases per year in UK