Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in the city and district of Genoa: estimated mortality rate in the six year period 1974-1979

A retrospective study of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in Italy (1972-1986)

In a retrospective study of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) in Italy from 1972 to 1986, we found 79 cases which fulfilled the diagnostic criteria for CJD. The annual mortality rate was 0.09 cases per million inhabitants. In this series the female to male ratio was 2.59, a value significantly higher than that found in Italian population (1.05). The mean age at death was 62.1 +/- 9.4 years and the mean duration of the disease was 5.3 +/- 3.0 months. No familial cases of CJD were found in our series. Mental deterioration was present in all of our cases, myoclonus in 85% and the other clinical signs were present at a lower rate. Periodic EEG activity was found in 92% of the cases. Two patients had had neurological or ophthalmic surgery and 17% of our cases had undergone general surgery within 5 years prior to the clinical onset of CJD.

A retrospective study of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in England and Wales 1970-1979. II: Epidemiology

A comprehensive search yielded 121 confirmed cases of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease who died in England and Wales in the decade 1970-1979, 31 probable cases and 10 possible cases. Descriptive epidemiological data are presented. The average annual incidence was 0.3 cases/million. An unexpected female excess was found. There was no evidence of space-time clustering of cases and no associations with occupation or past medical treatment were apparent. There was statistically significant variation in incidence rates in different parts of the country but no relationship was discovered between incidence and population density.

Creutzfeld-Jakob disease in the province of Siena: two cases transmitted to monkeys

Two cases of histopathologically documented Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease were observed in the same area of the province of Siena in 1974-1975. The transmission of the disease was obtained through brain homogenates and lymphnodes in one of the two cases. This confirms that the agent is present in other tissues besides the brain and underlines further the analogies between Creutzfeld-Jakob disease and scrapie.