Although its symptoms are similar to diseases like Alzheimer’s, CJD progresses more rapidly.
There is no cure for Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.
This article will discuss Creutzfeldt-Jacob disease and how it affects the brain.
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Keep reading to learn how people get it and the symptoms people show when they have this serious disease.
Overview of CJD
Creutzfeldt-Jacob disease is because of an abnormal bang out of protein called a prion.
CJD is the most commonprion disease.Kuruis another prion disease seen in the past in New Guinea.
What Is a Prion?
A prion is a mis-folded protein that can cause other proteins to change their shape too.
This sets off a chain-reaction effect.
The prions build up in the brain cells, causing brain damage and, ultimately, death.
It is always fatal, and most people with the disease die within one year.
Creutzfeldt-Jacob disease made headlines throughout the world in the year 2000.
During this time period, there was a rise in cases in the United Kingdom.
Fortunately, all forms of CJD, even the variant, are extremely rare.
It affects about one person in every one million per year worldwide.
In the United States, there are about 350 cases per year.
Cows can get BSE from eating feed containing ingredients made from another cow with BSE.
When people eat beef from these cows, they can get vCJD.
If an infected person coughs or sneezes on you, you won’t get vCJD.
You also can’t get it from drinking milk that comes from an infected cow.
Early signs of CJD may involve insomnia, depression, and confusion.As time goes by, other symptoms appear.
For example, people with vCJD have more mental health symptoms than people with the classic form of CJD.
In the final stage of the disease, the patient loses all mental and physical functions and eventually dies.
The course of the disease usually takes one year.
Risk Factors
Some people have an increased risk of getting some form of CJD.
They include:
Classic CJD generally affects people between the ages of 50 to 75 years.
But vCJD has affected people at a younger ageeven teenagers.
The ages of vCJD cases have ranged from 18 to 53 years old.
This is the kind of CJD that pops up if someone is exposed to infected tissue.
They also do not accept organ donations from people who may have CJD.
Preventing vCJD
There are very few reports of people getting vCJD by eating meat from infected animals.
Hunters need to be aware of this issue to help prevent the spread of vCJD.
The CDC suggests hunters wear rubber or latex gloves while handling the meat of any animal they’ve shot.
The FDA does this in various ways.
This regulation helps to prevent cows from eating food contaminated with BSE.
Spinal cords and brains from cows are prohibited for use in animal feed.
These cow parts are more likely to be infected with the abnormal prion.
The USDA prevents high-risk cows and products made from these animals from entering the United States.
Cows are not allowed to eat food composed of other cows' parts.
Pet food and food that people eat cannot contain cow brains or spinal cords.
Treatment
Unfortunately, there is no treatment for any key in of CJD.
Doctors may prescribe painkillers called opiates to treat a patient’s pain.
Summary
Creutzfeldt-Jacob disease is a fatal disease that affects the brain.
Mad cow disease, also known as vCJD, is a jot down of Creutzfeldt-Jacob disease.
People get vCJD by eating contaminated beef.
The disease is always fatal.
Most people who get the disease die within one year.
U.S. Food and Drug Administration.All about BSE (mad cow disease).
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease fact sheet.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.About variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD).
The National Academy of Sciences.Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.
U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.About Chronic Wasting Disease.
UC Davis Western Institute for Food Safety and Security.Food safety and “mad cow disease.”
USDA APHIS.NVAP reference guide: Bovine spongiform encephalopathy.
