CJD Conference 2015

Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease, or CJD is a rare and fatal degenerative brain disease of the central nervous system in humans.

It is one of a group of diseases that affects humans and animals, known as the transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs) or prion diseases. In animals, the best known TSE is BSE (bovine spongiform encephalopathy) sometimes referred to in the news as mad-cow disease. CJD is not transmitted through social contact.

There is currently no cure or treatment for CJD but research continues on many drugs. CJD is still only confirmed by autopsy although a test performed on cerebrospinal fluid to detect a protein marker can help diagnose CJD in people who already show clinical symptoms of the disease.