Latest news with #Creutzfeldt-JakobDisease
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
A 58-year-old woman has died of a rare neurological condition. The cause of death? Being injected with hormones taken from a corpse.
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. A woman in the U.S. has died from severe neurological symptoms that were caused by an abnormal protein — which she was unknowingly injected with nearly 50 years earlier. Having shown no neurological symptoms in the decades since the injection, the 58-year-old recently began experiencing tremors and changes in her ability to balance while walking. In the following weeks, she developed urinary incontinence, difficulty speaking and abnormal breathing. After being admitted to hospital, she entered a coma and later died, according to a case report published May 14 in the journal Emerging Infectious Diseases. A follow-up MRI scan while she was in hospital revealed damage to her brain, and further testing showed positive results for an abnormal protein called a prion. Prions are found in cell membranes, the wall that surrounds every one of our cells, and are thought to be one of the molecules involved in cellular communication and other interactions. Though prions can exist safely in the body, when these proteins accumulate in the brain they can cause surrounding proteins to contort and "misfold," damaging nerve cells. Infection with an abnormally 'folded' prion from an external source – like eating contaminated meat, as in the case of 'mad cow' disease – can also spark a chain of misfolding in the body. The brain damage caused by prion diseases is always fatal, with most patients dying within one year of first developing symptoms, according to Mayo Clinic. In this case, the woman was diagnosed with Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD), an extremely rare and fatal brain wasting disease caused by prions. Related: Here's how dangerous, deadly prions spread to the brain It is thought the woman was given prion-infected hormones sometime between 1971 and 1980, while receiving treatment for a condition called panhypopituitarism. People with this condition have a lack of hormones produced by the pituitary gland, the organ that secretes a range of hormones including those involved in growth and sexual development. In the 1970s, panhypopituitarism was treated by injecting patients with human growth hormones extracted from the healthy pituitary glands of people who had died. At the time, this was common practice — as well as being used to treat pituitary conditions, hormones from cadavers were also given to women whose ovaries were not producing eggs. However, in 1985 researchers identified the first U.S. outbreak of CJD related to treatments with cadaver-derived growth hormones. The treatment was quickly suspended, and later a synthetic alternative hormone, produced by genetic engineering, was approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). RELATED STORIES — Alzheimer's comes in at least 5 distinct forms, study reveals — Shingles vaccine may directly guard against dementia, study hints — 13 proteins tied to brain aging seem to spike at ages 57, 70 and 78 So far, 0.4% of those treated in the U.S with growth hormones taken from the organs of deceased individuals have gone on to develop CJD. How these hormones were infected with prions is still unknown, and scientists cannot yet explain why there is such a long latency period between the infection and the symptoms arising. There is currently no treatment available to those with CJD, or any other form of prion disease. However, ongoing research projects seek to uncover treatments for the conditions. The researchers involved in the recent case study said that while the number of people developing CJD as a result of growth hormone treatment has slowed over the years, it is still possible that new cases will arise.
Yahoo
14-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Two dead, another infected, as rare brain disease reported in one Oregon county
Two people are believed to have died of a rare, incurable brain disease within months of each other in a single Oregon county. Health officials said in a recent statement that three cases of Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease have been found in Hood River County, 70 miles east of Portland, in the past eight months. Two of the cases resulted in death, according to The Oregonian. One of the cases was confirmed by autopsy, while two are presumptive diagnoses, the newspaper said. It is not known whether the cases are linked, the Hood River County Health Department said Friday. Health officials said that while the risk to the public remains 'extremely low' they are monitoring the situation closely. 'We're trying to look at any common risk factors that might link these cases,' Hood River County Health Department director Trish Elliot told the outlet. 'But it's pretty hard in some cases to come up with what the real cause is.' Elliot said the only way to confirm the disease is to test the brain and spinal fluid after death. The results of those tests can take months to establish. The Independent has contacted the Hood River County Health Department for more information. Creutzfeldt-Jakob causes rapidly intensifying symptoms that present movement disorders and behavioral changes, similar to Alzheimer's. The rare and deadly disorder is caused by infectious proteins called prions, which can cause small holes in the brain that resemble sponges under a microscope. There is currently no treatment or cure. Deaths typically occur 12 months after infection. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately 500 to 600 new cases occur in the U.S. each year. Most cases are believed to be hereditary, linked to a genetic mutation passed on from a parent. The disease cannot be spread from person to person except through organ or tissue transplants or other exposure to infected brain or nervous tissue. In rare cases, Variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease is linked to eating infected beef from cows with a related disease. Elliott said the three Hood River cases are not believed to be related to infected cattle.
Yahoo
14-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Two dead, another infected, as rare brain disease reported in one Oregon county
Two people are believed to have died of a rare, incurable brain disease within months of each other in a single Oregon county. Health officials said in a recent statement that three cases of Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease have been found in Hood River County, 70 miles east of Portland, in the past eight months. Two of the cases resulted in death, according to The Oregonian. One of the cases was confirmed by autopsy, while two are presumptive diagnoses, the newspaper said. It is not known whether the cases are linked, the Hood River County Health Department said Friday. Health officials said that while the risk to the public remains 'extremely low' they are monitoring the situation closely. 'We're trying to look at any common risk factors that might link these cases,' Hood River County Health Department director Trish Elliot told the outlet. 'But it's pretty hard in some cases to come up with what the real cause is.' Elliot said the only way to confirm the disease is to test the brain and spinal fluid after death. The results of those tests can take months to establish. The Independent has contacted the Hood River County Health Department for more information. Creutzfeldt-Jakob causes rapidly intensifying symptoms that present movement disorders and behavioral changes, similar to Alzheimer's. The rare and deadly disorder is caused by infectious proteins called prions, which can cause small holes in the brain that resemble sponges under a microscope. There is currently no treatment or cure. Deaths typically occur 12 months after infection. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately 500 to 600 new cases occur in the U.S. each year. Most cases are believed to be hereditary, linked to a genetic mutation passed on from a parent. The disease cannot be spread from person to person except through organ or tissue transplants or other exposure to infected brain or nervous tissue. In rare cases, Variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease is linked to eating infected beef from cows with a related disease. Elliott said the three Hood River cases are not believed to be related to infected cattle.
The Independent
14-04-2025
- Health
- The Independent
Two dead, another infected, as rare brain disease reported in one Oregon county
Two people are believed to have died of a rare, incurable brain disease within months of each other in a single Oregon county. Health officials said in a recent statement that three cases of Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease have been found in Hood River County, 70 miles east of Portland, in the past eight months. Two of the cases resulted in death, according to The Oregonian. One of the cases was confirmed by autopsy, while two are presumptive diagnoses, the newspaper said. It is not known whether the cases are linked, the Hood River County Health Department said Friday. Health officials said that while the risk to the public remains 'extremely low' they are monitoring the situation closely. 'We're trying to look at any common risk factors that might link these cases,' Hood River County Health Department director Trish Elliot told the outlet. 'But it's pretty hard in some cases to come up with what the real cause is.' Elliot said the only way to confirm the disease is to test the brain and spinal fluid after death. The results of those tests can take months to establish. The Independent has contacted the Hood River County Health Department for more information. Creutzfeldt-Jakob causes rapidly intensifying symptoms that present movement disorders and behavioral changes, similar to Alzheimer's. The rare and deadly disorder is caused by infectious proteins called prions, which can cause small holes in the brain that resemble sponges under a microscope. There is currently no treatment or cure. Deaths typically occur 12 months after infection. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately 500 to 600 new cases occur in the U.S. each year. Most cases are believed to be hereditary, linked to a genetic mutation passed on from a parent. The disease cannot be spread from person to person except through organ or tissue transplants or other exposure to infected brain or nervous tissue. In rare cases, Variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease is linked to eating infected beef from cows with a related disease. Elliott said the three Hood River cases are not believed to be related to infected cattle.
Yahoo
12-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
3 cases of rare brain disease reported in Hood River County; 2 reported dead
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Three cases of a rare brain disease have been reported by public health officials in Hood River County. The rare brain disorder Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease have been found in three cases in the past eight months, and it's unclear if these cases are linked at this time, according to the Hood River County Health Department on Friday. The Oregonian/OregonLive, , says two of the cases have resulted in deaths. KOIN 6 News has reached out to the Hood River County Health Department for confirmation. Oregon DEQ remains closed Saturday after cyberattack: What to know No other details about the local cases were immediately available. , health department officials for Hood River County described the risk to the public as 'extremely low.' , Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease is the result of a prion, which is a type of infectious protein, and prions then trigger a body's normal proteins to misfold. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Hood River County health officials say most cases of CJD can happen without a known reason, but sometimes it can be inherited by running in families and in very rare cases, it can be spread through certain medical exposures or by eating infected beef. Stay with KOIN 6 News as this story develops. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
