What is CJD?
Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD) is a brain disorder that usually occurs in people over the age of 60. It is sometimes called a “spongiform” disease because the brain may develop holes in it like a sponge. There are four types of CJD: sporadic, variant, familial and iatrogenic. Sporadic CJD occurs spontaneously and is the most common type of CJD in the United States. Variant CJD is associated with eating beef in the United Kingdom during the “mad cow” epidemic. Familial CJD is inherited through a genetic mutation. Iatrogenic CJD is transmitted by contaminated surgical instruments in high risk surgeries involving transplants of brain and spinal cord tissue. Every year about one person out of every million is diagnosed with CJD, primarily sporadic. There is no known treatment; most people die within 3 to 12 months of onset of symptoms.
