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Burke O, Jacobs JW, Tormey CA, Rinder HM, Figueroa Villalba CA, Lee ES, Silva Campos JJ, Abels E, Yurtsever N. Heidenhain variant of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease masquerading as neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder: recognizing when apheresis is not the answer. Lab Med 2024; 55:520-523. [PMID: 38142129 DOI: 10.1093/labmed/lmad107] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/25/2023] Open
Abstract
The Heidenhain variant of Creutzfeld-Jakob disease (CJD) is a rare form that initially presents with visual disturbances. In early stages, the presentation can mimic neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders (NMOSD) and lead to unnecessary treatment modalities. Herein, we describe a case of a 66-year-old man who presented with bilateral vision loss and retro-orbital discomfort. In addition to immunosuppressive therapy, he received 4 rounds of therapeutic plasma exchange after his preliminary diagnosis of NMOSD. We were surprised to note that his condition did not show improvement but deteriorated, with severe neurocognitive symptoms. Eventually, CJD was suspected, and real-time quaking-induced conversion (RT-QuIC) was performed. By the time the diagnosis of Heidenhain variant of CJD was confirmed, the patient was discharged to hospice care and died shortly after.
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Affiliation(s)
- Olivia Burke
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, US
- Department of Pathology, and Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, US
| | - Jeremy W Jacobs
- Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, US
| | | | - Henry M Rinder
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, US
- Internal Medicine (Hematology), Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, US
| | | | - Edward S Lee
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, US
| | - Juan J Silva Campos
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, US
- Department of Pathology, and Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, US
| | - Elizabeth Abels
- Department of Pathology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, US
| | - Nalan Yurtsever
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, US
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Goodwill VS, Dryden I, Choi J, De Lillo C, Soldau K, Llibre-Guerra J, Sanchez H, Sigurdson CJ, Lin JH. Minimal change prion retinopathy: Morphometric comparison of retinal and brain prion deposits in Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. Exp Eye Res 2022; 222:109172. [PMID: 35803332 PMCID: PMC9946801 DOI: 10.1016/j.exer.2022.109172] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/27/2022] [Accepted: 06/30/2022] [Indexed: 02/04/2023]
Abstract
Sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (sCJD) is the most commonly diagnosed human prion disease caused by the abnormal misfolding of the 'cellular' prion protein (PrPC) into the transmissible 'scrapie-type' prion form (PrPSc). Neuropathologic evaluation of brains with sCJD reveals abnormal PrPSc deposits primarily in grey matter structures, often associated with micro-vacuolar spongiform changes in neuropil, neuronal loss, and gliosis. Abnormal PrPSc deposits have also been reported in the retina of patients with sCJD, but few studies have characterized the morphology of these retinal PrPSc deposits or evaluated for any retinal neurodegenerative changes. We performed histopathologic and morphometric analyses of retinal and brain prion deposits in 14 patients with sCJD. Interestingly, we discovered that the morphology of retinal PrPSc deposits generally differs from that of brain PrPSc deposits in terms of size and shape. We found that retinal PrPSc deposits consistently localize to the outer plexiform layer of the retina. Additionally, we observed that the retinal PrPSc deposits are not associated with the spongiform change, neuronal loss, and gliosis often seen in the brain. The stereotypic morphology and location of PrPSc deposits in sCJD retinas may help guide the use of ocular imaging devices in the detection of these deposits for a clinical diagnosis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vanessa S Goodwill
- Department of Pathology, University of California, San Diego, CA, 92093, USA.
| | - Ian Dryden
- Departments of Pathology and Ophthalmology, Stanford University, CA, 94305, USA; VA Palo Alto Healthcare System, Palo Alto, CA, 94304, USA
| | - Jihee Choi
- Departments of Pathology and Ophthalmology, Stanford University, CA, 94305, USA; VA Palo Alto Healthcare System, Palo Alto, CA, 94304, USA
| | - Chiara De Lillo
- Departments of Pathology and Ophthalmology, Stanford University, CA, 94305, USA
| | - Katrin Soldau
- Department of Pathology, University of California, San Diego, CA, 92093, USA
| | - Jorge Llibre-Guerra
- Department of Neurology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, 63108, USA; Global Brain Health Institute, University of California, San Francisco, CA, 94143, USA
| | - Henry Sanchez
- Department of Neurology, University of California, San Francisco, CA, 94143, USA
| | | | - Jonathan H Lin
- Departments of Pathology and Ophthalmology, Stanford University, CA, 94305, USA; VA Palo Alto Healthcare System, Palo Alto, CA, 94304, USA.
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Muthusamy S, Garg P, Chandra RV, Seneviratne U. How common are seizures in the heidenhain variant of creutzfeldt-jakob disease? A case report and systematic review. J Clin Neurosci 2021; 86:301-309. [PMID: 33436304 DOI: 10.1016/j.jocn.2020.10.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/18/2020] [Revised: 09/08/2020] [Accepted: 10/03/2020] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
The Heidenhain variant of Creutzfeld-Jakob disease (HvCJD) is a relentlessly progressive and fatal neurodegenerative disorder characterised by prominent visual features early in its clinical course. However, seizures are uncommonly reported in HvCJD. The case history of a patient admitted to our institution with HvCJD and seizures is described followed by a systematic review of the association between HvCJD and seizures. A systematic search of the databases Medline, PubMed, and PsycInfo was conducted, from inception to November 2019, using keywords relating to 'Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease' and 'Heidenhain variant', to ascertain the frequency of seizures in HvCJD, as well as, seizure semiology and electrographic features. The Preferred Items Reporting for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines were followed in the construction of this systematic review. All studies, including case reports of patients who met the diagnostic criteria for HvCJD where details pertaining to clinical presentation, imaging, biochemical and EEG findings were available were included. There were 46 articles reporting on a total of 73 patients. Seizures occurred in only four out of 73 cases (5.5%). The semiology of these seizures were focal motor seizures with or without secondary generalisation and occipital lobe seizures. Imaging and electrographic findings were most commonly abnormal in the posterior cerebral cortices (in particular the occipital and occipito-parietal regions). This systematic review suggests that seizures are uncommon in HvCJD despite the frequency of imaging and electrographic abnormalities in the posterior cerebral regions. A key limitation of this systematic review is the variability of publications in terms of incomplete reporting of clinical data, in particular potential under-reporting of seizures, as well as follow up, which may have contributed to the lower frequency of seizures reported in patients with HvCJD.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Priya Garg
- Middlemore Hospital, Auckland, New Zealand
| | - Ronil V Chandra
- School of Clinical Sciences at Monash Health, Department of Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia; Neuroradiology Service, Monash Imaging, Monash Medical Centre, Clayton, Melbourne, Australia.
| | - Udaya Seneviratne
- Department of Neurology, Monash Medical Centre, Clayton, Melbourne, Australia; School of Clinical Sciences at Monash Health, Department of Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia; Department of Medicine, St. Vincent's Hospital, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia.
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