Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) is a rare and fatal form of dementia, caused by abnormal prion proteins that are toxic to the brain.
Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease causes a type of dementia that gets worse unusually fast. More common causes of dementia, such as Alzheimer's, dementia with Lewy bodies and frontotemporal dementia, typically progress more slowly. Through a process scientists don't yet understand, misfolded prion protein destroys brain cells.
Frontotemporal dementia, a rare form of dementia that tends to occur in people younger than 60. It is associated with abnormal amounts or forms of the proteins tau and TDP-43. Lewy body dementia, a form of dementia caused by abnormal deposits of the protein alpha-synuclein, called Lewy bodies.
Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) is a rare, rapidly worsening brain disorder that causes unique changes in brain tissue and affects muscle coordination thinking, and memory. There are about 350 cases per year in the U.S. The two main symptoms of CJD are: Severe mental deterioration and dementia.
Posterior cortical atrophy (PCA), also called Benson's syndrome, is a rare, visual variant of Alzheimer's disease. It affects areas in the back of the brain responsible for spatial perception, complex visual processing, spelling and calculation.
There are over 100 forms of dementia, with the most well-known form of dementia being Alzheimer's disease.
Huntington's disease (HD) is a hereditary and deadly disorder that causes nerve cells in the brain to break down. This causes physical and mental abilities to weaken, and they get worse over time. There is no cure.
Currently, there is no cure for Alzheimer's disease, though there has been significant progress in recent years in developing and testing new treatments. Several medicines have been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat people with Alzheimer's. Learn more about how Alzheimer's disease is treated.
Some of the notable intracranial causes of sudden unexpected death include intracranial hemorrhage, ischemic stroke, epilepsy, brain tumors, meningitis, and cerebral abscess (Table 1) [5].
Alzheimer's is the most common cause of dementia.
The Mini-Cog test.
A third test, known as the Mini-Cog, takes 2 to 4 minutes to administer and involves asking patients to recall three words after drawing a picture of a clock. If a patient shows no difficulties recalling the words, it is inferred that he or she does not have dementia.
Alzheimer's disease
Alzheimer's often develops gradually and may be the slowest of all types to progress.
Overview of disease progression
However, not all people with MCI develop dementia. The symptoms of Alzheimer's disease worsen over time, although the rate at which the disease progresses varies.
While dementia is a general term, Alzheimer's disease is a specific brain disease. It is marked by symptoms of dementia that gradually get worse over time.
There is currently no "cure" for dementia. In fact, because dementia is caused by different diseases it is unlikely that there will be a single cure for dementia.
Administration: The examiner reads a list of 5 words at a rate of one per second, giving the following instructions: “This is a memory test. I am going to read a list of words that you will have to remember now and later on. Listen carefully. When I am through, tell me as many words as you can remember.
One of the most common causes of death for people with dementia is pneumonia caused by an infection. A person in the later stages of dementia may have symptoms that suggest that they are close to death, but can sometimes live with these symptoms for many months.
cancer. dementia, including Alzheimer's disease. advanced lung, heart, kidney and liver disease. stroke and other neurological diseases, including motor neurone disease and multiple sclerosis.
The three essential findings in brain death are coma, absence of brain stem reflexes, and apnea. An evaluation for brain death should be considered in patients who have suffered a massive, irreversible brain injury of identifiable cause.
It can be helpful to think of dementia progressing in three stages – early, middle and late. These are sometimes called mild, moderate and severe, because this describes how much the symptoms affect a person.
Many people affected by dementia are concerned that they may inherit or pass on dementia. The majority of dementia is not inherited by children and grandchildren. In rarer types of dementia there may be a strong genetic link, but these are only a tiny proportion of overall cases of dementia.
Receiving a life-changing dementia diagnosis doesn't strip a person of their humanity or personhood. People with dementia think about the same things that any human thinks about — emotions, relationships, daily life, tasks to accomplish, and more.