title: Rapidly progressive dementia with hypoglycorrhachia.
abstract: We report a woman who presented with rapidly progressive dementia and hypoglycorrhachia and discuss the approach and differential diagnosis for her condition. Rapidly progressive dementia poses a variety of challenges to the treating clinician, not only due to the speed of disease progression, but also due to the poor prognosis if intervention is delayed. The differential diagnosis of a patient presenting with rapid cognitive and functional decline is broad and includes degenerative, infectious, toxic, and neoplastic etiologies, some of which can be identified clinically through history and physical examination. Diagnostic evaluation using gadolinium-enhanced MRI, electroencephalography, and serum and cerebrospinal fluid testing is often required. The utility of testing for cerebrospinal fluid 14-3-3 antigen and tau is also reviewed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, 3400 Spruce Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA. Electronic address: James.siegler@uphs.upenn.edu.
authors.forename: James E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Siegler
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, 3400 Spruce Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA.
authors.forename: Dina A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Jacobs
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, 3400 Spruce Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA.
authors.forename: Defne
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Amado
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, 3400 Spruce Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA.
authors.forename: Jamie L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Adams
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, 3400 Spruce Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA.
authors.forename: Joseph R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Berger
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D003704:Dementia / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid* / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis*; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D018450:Disease Progression; D004569:Electroencephalography; D017809:Fatal Outcome; D005260:Female; D005947:Glucose / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid*; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000009:adverse effects; D055756:Meningeal Carcinomatosis / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis
chemical_list: D005947:Glucose
keywords: Cerebrospinal fluid; Dementia; Diagnostics; Hypoglycorrhachia