Diffusion-weighted MRI in Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease: a better diagnostic marker than CSF protein 14-3-3?
Two middle-aged patients presented with rapidly progressive dementia and ataxia, nonspecific electroencephalography findings, and negative cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) protein 14-3-3. Both patients underwent brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans that demonstrated abnormalities on diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) sequences, and both were later confirmed to have Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. (CJD) by tissue examination. Because a recent position paper from the American Academy of Neurology characterized CSF protein 14-3-3 as a gold standard for clinically diagnosing CJD, the authors reviewed studies of CJD in which DWI-MRI imaging and CSF protein 14-3-3 studies were both performed. Among 19 reported cases of CJD with DWI-MRI lesions, CSF protein 14-3-3 was negative in 6 cases and positive in 2 others. The authors' findings suggest that multifocal cortical and subcortical hyperintensities confined to gray matter regions in DWI-MRI may be a more useful noninvasive diagnostic marker for CJD than CSF protein 14-3-3. These observations provide a compelling rationale for a prospective comparative study.
Department of Neurology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.
Oscar E
OE
Mendez
Jingzi
J
Shang
Charles A
CA
Jungreis
Daniel I
DI
Kaufer
D048948:14-3-3 Proteins; D000368:Aged; D007562:Creutzfeldt-Jakob Syndrome / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid / Q000175:diagnosis*; D017809:Fatal Outcome; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D014446:Tyrosine 3-Monooxygenase / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid
D048948:14-3-3 Proteins; D014446:Tyrosine 3-Monooxygenase