The State Department of Health of Minas Gerais registered a suspected case of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD), whose variant resembles mad cow disease. The information was confirmed by the department this Tuesday (12).
The case was registered in the municipality of Caratinga, located around 300 kilometers from Belo Horizonte. The patient is a 78-year-old man and shows signs of neurological changes.
However, the secretariat still states that there is no confirmation of mad cow disease in the state and that the episode happened sporadically. According to the ministry, 85% of cases of the disease are usually registered without an identified cause. CJD generally affects people between 55 and 70 years old and is slightly prevalent in women.
“The identification of the 14-3-3 protein in CSF has a high degree of specificity and sensitivity for diagnosing forms of CJD. However, definitive confirmation is only possible through neuropathological examination of fragments of the brain, in the case of death”, stated the secretariat.
Thus, the variant of Creutzfeldt–Jakob Disease (vCJD) is associated with the consumption of meat and by-products from cattle contaminated with Bovine Spongiform Encephalitis, known as “mad cow” disease, which predominantly affects young people, under 30. years, which is different from the patient in question.
Symptoms
Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD) is neurodegenerative, characterized by causing a brain disorder with memory loss and tremors, according to the Ministry of Health. Find out the symptoms:
- Brain disorder with memory loss;
- Tremors. In a third of cases, patients present;
- Lack of coordination of muscle movements;
- Language disorders;
- Loss of communication ability;
- Visual loss.
When it comes to its variant (vCJD), the patient presents typically non-specific psychiatric, behavioral and sensory symptoms in 63% of cases. In addition, it is also possible to notice a weakening or loss of some of the senses, a feeling of numbness or tingling in some part of the body, depression, anxiety, psychosis, auditory or visual hallucinations, withdrawal, agitation, irritability, insomnia, loss of interest and forgetfulness.
*Under supervision
This content was originally published in Elderly person hospitalized with suspected mad cow disease in MG on the CNN Brasil website.
Source: CNN Brasil
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