An Evaluation of Rapidly Progressive Dementia Culminating in a Diagnosis of Creutzfeldt–Jakob Disease

Joint Authors

Kobewka, Daniel
Parmar, Parmvir
Cooper, Curtis L.

Source

Case Reports in Infectious Diseases

Issue

Vol. 2018, Issue 2018 (31 Dec. 2018), pp.1-4, 4 p.

Publisher

Hindawi Publishing Corporation

Publication Date

2018-09-23

Country of Publication

Egypt

No. of Pages

4

Main Subjects

Diseases

Abstract EN

Rapidly progressive dementia is a curious and elusive clinical description of a pattern of cognitive deficits that progresses faster than typical dementia syndromes.

The differential diagnosis and clinical workup for rapidly progressive dementia are quite extensive and involve searching for infectious, inflammatory, autoimmune, neoplastic, metabolic, and neurodegenerative causes.

We present the case of a previously highly functional 76-year-old individual who presented with a 6-month history of rapidly progressive dementia.

His most prominent symptoms were cognitive impairment, aphasia, visual hallucinations, and ataxia.

Following an extensive battery of tests in hospital, the differential diagnosis remained probable CJD versus autoimmune encephalitis.

He clinically deteriorated and progressed to akinetic mutism and myoclonus.

He passed away 8 weeks after his initial presentation to hospital, and an autopsy confirmed a diagnosis of sporadic CJD.

We use this illustrative case as a framework to discuss the clinical and diagnostic considerations in the workup for rapidly progressive dementia.

We also discuss CJD and autoimmune encephalitis, the two main diagnostic possibilities in our patient, in more detail.

American Psychological Association (APA)

Parmar, Parmvir& Cooper, Curtis L.& Kobewka, Daniel. 2018. An Evaluation of Rapidly Progressive Dementia Culminating in a Diagnosis of Creutzfeldt–Jakob Disease. Case Reports in Infectious Diseases،Vol. 2018, no. 2018, pp.1-4.
https://search.emarefa.net/detail/BIM-1144421

Modern Language Association (MLA)

Parmar, Parmvir…[et al.]. An Evaluation of Rapidly Progressive Dementia Culminating in a Diagnosis of Creutzfeldt–Jakob Disease. Case Reports in Infectious Diseases No. 2018 (2018), pp.1-4.
https://search.emarefa.net/detail/BIM-1144421

American Medical Association (AMA)

Parmar, Parmvir& Cooper, Curtis L.& Kobewka, Daniel. An Evaluation of Rapidly Progressive Dementia Culminating in a Diagnosis of Creutzfeldt–Jakob Disease. Case Reports in Infectious Diseases. 2018. Vol. 2018, no. 2018, pp.1-4.
https://search.emarefa.net/detail/BIM-1144421

Data Type

Journal Articles

Language

English

Notes

Includes bibliographical references

Record ID

BIM-1144421