How is variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease different from classic Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease?
The classic form of Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease is endemic throughout the world, including the United States. The median age at death of patients with classic CJD in the United States is 68 years, and very few cases occur in persons under 30 years of age. In contrast, the median age at death of patients with vCJD is 28 years. The vCJD can be confirmed only through examination of brain tissue obtained by biopsy or at autopsy, but a “probable case” of vCJD can be diagnosed on the basis of certain clinical criteria developed in the United Kingdom. The incubation period for vCJD is unknown because it is a relatively new disease. However, it is likely that ultimately this incubation period will be measured in terms of many years or decades. In other words, if a person develops vCJD from consuming a BSE-contaminated product (not yet scientifically proven), he or she likely would have consumed that product a decade or more earlier. In contrast to classic CJD, vCJD predominantly affects younger
