Periodic Sharp Wave Complexes in Patient with Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease

Abstract

Creutzfeldt- Jakob disease (CJD) is included under the umbrella of prior related neurodegenerative diseases. Other prior related diseases include Gerstmann-Str‰usslerScheinker (GSS), fatal familial insomnia (FFI), Kuru and new variant CJD (BSE) in humans, chronic wasting disease (CWD) in deer and scrapie in sheep. Sporadic CJD presents with rapidly progressive dementia and myoclonus. Diagnosis is typically clinical and supplemented by electroencephalography (EEG) and analysis of cerebrospinal fluid. During the course of sporadic CJD, most patients develop a characteristic picture on EEG with one second periodic or pseudoperiodic sharp waves complexes (PSWC) or spikes superimposed on a slow background (Fig 1 and 2).