Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease: First Cases Reported In The Brazilian Amazon

Francisco Ribeiro Picanço Junior, Edrian Werner Carvalho, Francisco Benjamin Sousa Alves, Randerson José de Araujo Sousa, Marcos Manoel Honorato, Fernando Morgadinho Coelho

Resumo

Objective: report three cases of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in the Amazon’s interior, demonstrate the evolution of the clinical picture and diagnosis of the disease, study the relationship between COVID-19 and the triggering or acceleration of the prion disease and analyze the difficulties for diagnosis. Methods: a series of cases composed of three patients with a condition compatible with Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, where two of them were infected by the coronavirus. It is an observational and descriptive study and the data were collected from the medical records. Results: all three patients had an expected clinical picture for the condition, characterized by myoclonus and neurological decline in several functions, especially cognitive, behavioral, and cerebellar. Two of them had COVID-19, but it is unsure whether there is a relation between it and the triggering or an accelerated progression of the prion disease. In this study, all patients died from sepsis secondary to pneumonia within an interval of 3 to 9 months. Conclusion: The dissemination of knowledge about Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease and professional capacity may be relevant for a more assertive diagnosis in remote places such as the Amazon and its relationship with COVID-19 needs to be better elucidated.