Role of Stress as a Precipitating Factor of Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease: A Case Series

Abstract

Easily mistaken for multiple neurological and psychiatric pathologies, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) is still underdiagnosed, with a difficult, late, and often retrospective recognition. Furthermore, its pathophysiology is poorly understood, and to date, no intervention has proven effective in its prevention or associated morbidity and mortality. The authors present a series of two clinical cases that not only expose its natural history and challenging differential diagnosis but also warn of a potential impact of psychological and stressful factors in its predisposition and/or precipitation.