title: Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in a pregnant woman with an implanted dura mater graft.
abstract: A 28-year-old woman with prior neurosurgery involving the placement of a cadaveric dural graft developed a rapidly progressive neurodegenerative disorder with prominent cerebellar dysfunction that was proven at autopsy to be Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. She represents the second American to develop Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in association with a dural graft. The unusual features of the case include the patient's initial clinical presentation with cerebellar ataxia in the absence of dementia, the widespread presence of kuru-type amyloid plaques on a histological examination of the brain, the development of clinical symptoms during pregnancy, and the subsequent delivery of a child who remains healthy at the age of 3 years.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina.
authors.forename: K L
authors.initials: KL
authors.lastname: Lane
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Brown
authors.forename: D N
authors.initials: DN
authors.lastname: Howell
authors.forename: B J
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Crain
authors.forename: C M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Hulette
authors.forename: P C
authors.initials: PC
authors.lastname: Burger
authors.forename: S J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: DeArmond
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001139:Arnold-Chiari Malformation / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D001284:Atrophy; D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology; D003094:Collagen / Q000009:adverse effects*; D007562:Creutzfeldt-Jakob Syndrome / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000473:pathology / Q000635:transmission*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D009410:Nerve Degeneration / Q000502:physiology; D009460:Neurologic Examination; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology; D011247:Pregnancy; D011251:Pregnancy Complications, Infectious / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology
chemical_list: C032281:Lyodura; D003094:Collagen