The Importance of Rapid Consideration of Creutzfeldt- Jakob Disease in the Differential Diagnosis of Progressive Neurodegenerative Disease: A Case Report

Background: Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) is a prion disease characterized by misfolded proteins that lead to neurodegeneration and inevitable death. Classic sporadic CJD presents primarily with cognitive symptoms and ataxia without visual impairment at the onset of the illness. Seizure activity is a rare presentation of patients with sporadic CJD. Case: We present a rare case of rapidly progressive encephalopathy in a 57-year-old female who presented to the emergency department with bizarre behavior and vision deterioration. Imaging was unrevealing, and infectious and organic causes were ruled out. Electroencephalogram showed evidence of encephalopathy and non-convulsive status epilepticus. Magnetic resonance imaging conducted later displayed high signal intensity in centrum ovale. The patient’s history, results from diagnostic analyses, and clinical presentation suggested the diagnosis of CJD (sporadic type). Conclusion: Due to the low incidence and varying clinical presentations, it is difficult to include CJD in a differential diagnosis without specific analytic measures. However, for the benefit of the patient and healthcare resources, CJD needs to be quickly considered when rapid neurological decline or non-convulsive status epilepticus is not suggestive of another entity.