[Manifestation of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease 30 years after corneal transplantation].
BACKGROUND
Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, currently viewed as one of the prionic diseases, occurs in by far the majority of cases sporadically, sometimes in families, and in rare instances as a transmissible disease with every conceivable interval of latency.


METHODS
This report of a 45-year-old female concerns a spongiform encephalopathy which appeared almost 30 years after penetrating keratoplasty. The corneal material came from a 63-year-old donor with Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease; the keratoplasty was performed at a time when the transmissibility of certain diseases was still unknown.


CONCLUSIONS
The risk of transmission of the disease is very low but cannot be ruled out.
Thiel
H J
HJ
Universitäts-Augenklinik Tübingen, Abt. Augenheilkunde I, Allgemeine Augenheilkunde mit Poliklinik, Schleichstrasse 12, 72076 Tübingen.
Erb
C
C
Heckmann
J
J
Lang
C
C
Neundörfer
B
B
D007562:Creutzfeldt-Jakob Syndrome / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000635:transmission; D017809:Fatal Outcome; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015948:Keratoplasty, Penetrating; D008875:Middle Aged; D009460:Neurologic Examination; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000175:diagnosis*; D012307:Risk Factors; D014019:Tissue Donors