title: [Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in the psychiatric practice--case reports of the ataxic and Heidenhain variant].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (sCJD) is a rare fatal neurodegenerative brain disorder of variable clinical manifestation. Making the right diagnosis still remains challenging. First symptoms are vague and differ between clinical subtypes of the disease. This is to present the symptoms variability and diagnostic difficulties in sCJD based on case reports of two female patients examined at time of the disease duration by psychiatrists.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data of our patients were collected from hospital medical records.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The case of patient A. P.' ataxic sCJD is an example of clinical picture suggesting neurological background of the disease almost from the symptoms' onset and being referred by psychiatrist to the neurological ward, where the right diagnosis of probable sCJD was established. In the opposite is the case of patient I. W.' Heidenhain variant of sCJD, misdiagnosed with dissociative disorder delivering huge diagnostic difficulties, even to neurologists. In both patients the certain diagnosis was confirmed at autopsy.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In patients with visual disturbances of unknown etiology, even if the ophthalmological and neurological background is excluded, sCJD should be taken into consideration in the differential diagnosis.
authors.forename: Dominika
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Berent
authors.forename: Iwona
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Baczek
authors.forename: Antoni
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Florkowski
authors.forename: Piotr
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Gałecki
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D007562:Creutzfeldt-Jakob Syndrome / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis*; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008569:Memory Disorders / Q000209:etiology; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000209:etiology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D014786:Vision Disorders / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis*; D014792:Visual Acuity; D014794:Visual Fields