5 Facts you should know about

Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease

Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease (CJD) is a neurodegenerative disease that is incurable and invariably fatal

Infection with this disease leads to death usually within 1 year of onset of illness

CJD is at times called a human form of mad cow disease (bovine spongiform encephalopathy or BSE)

CJD is caused by an infectious agent called a prion

CJD causes the brain tissue to degenerate rapidly, and as the disease destroys the brain, the brain develops holes and the texture changes to resemble that of a sponge

See our full disease profile

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