Introduction

Please remember that a physician must be consulted for a diagnosis and symptom management.

A number of subtypes of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) exist, all with slight variations in signs and symptoms. Yet the various forms of the disease are more alike than they are different, and everyone affected by CJD must eventually contend with serious mental and physical problems. Typical first symptoms include personality changes like anxiety and depression, memory loss, confusion and impaired thinking. Difficulties with balance and coordination as well as involuntary, jerking movements are also very common. People eventually lose the ability to move and speak. Pneumonia and other infections often occur in these patients and can lead to death.