A Case of Sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease Presenting as Conversion Disorder

Background. Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease is a rare disorder of the central nervous system. Its initial diagnosis may be obscured by its variable presentation. This case report illustrates the complexity of diagnosing this disease early in the clinical course, especially when the initial symptoms may be...

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Main Authors: Nikhil Yegya-Raman, Rehan Aziz, Daniel Schneider, Anthony Tobia, Megan Leitch, Onyi Nwobi
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2017-01-01
Series:Case Reports in Psychiatry
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2017/2735329
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author Nikhil Yegya-Raman
Rehan Aziz
Daniel Schneider
Anthony Tobia
Megan Leitch
Onyi Nwobi
author_facet Nikhil Yegya-Raman
Rehan Aziz
Daniel Schneider
Anthony Tobia
Megan Leitch
Onyi Nwobi
author_sort Nikhil Yegya-Raman
collection DOAJ
description Background. Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease is a rare disorder of the central nervous system. Its initial diagnosis may be obscured by its variable presentation. This case report illustrates the complexity of diagnosing this disease early in the clinical course, especially when the initial symptoms may be psychiatric. It offers a brief review of the literature and reinforces a role for consultation psychiatry services. Methods. PUBMED/MEDLINE was searched using the terms “Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease”, “psychiatric symptoms”, “conversion disorder”, “somatic symptom disorder”, “functional movement disorder”, and “functional neurologic disorder”. Case. The patient was a 64-year-old woman with no prior psychiatric history who was initially diagnosed with conversion disorder and unspecified anxiety disorder but soon thereafter was discovered to have Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. Discussion. This case highlights the central role of psychiatric symptoms in early presentations of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. Still, few other cases in the literature report functional neurological symptoms as an initial sign. The consultation psychiatrist must remain alert to changing clinical symptoms, especially with uncharacteristic disease presentations.
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issn 2090-682X
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publishDate 2017-01-01
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series Case Reports in Psychiatry
spelling doaj-art-c87314d67c584a5da98f64cf4f50df612025-08-20T02:19:45ZengWileyCase Reports in Psychiatry2090-682X2090-68382017-01-01201710.1155/2017/27353292735329A Case of Sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease Presenting as Conversion DisorderNikhil Yegya-Raman0Rehan Aziz1Daniel Schneider2Anthony Tobia3Megan Leitch4Onyi Nwobi5Rutgers-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, Piscataway, NJ, USAPsychiatry at Rutgers-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, Piscataway, NJ, USANeurology at Rutgers-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, Piscataway, NJ, USAPsychiatry at Rutgers-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, Piscataway, NJ, USANeurology at Rutgers-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, Piscataway, NJ, USARutgers-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, Piscataway, NJ, USABackground. Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease is a rare disorder of the central nervous system. Its initial diagnosis may be obscured by its variable presentation. This case report illustrates the complexity of diagnosing this disease early in the clinical course, especially when the initial symptoms may be psychiatric. It offers a brief review of the literature and reinforces a role for consultation psychiatry services. Methods. PUBMED/MEDLINE was searched using the terms “Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease”, “psychiatric symptoms”, “conversion disorder”, “somatic symptom disorder”, “functional movement disorder”, and “functional neurologic disorder”. Case. The patient was a 64-year-old woman with no prior psychiatric history who was initially diagnosed with conversion disorder and unspecified anxiety disorder but soon thereafter was discovered to have Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. Discussion. This case highlights the central role of psychiatric symptoms in early presentations of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. Still, few other cases in the literature report functional neurological symptoms as an initial sign. The consultation psychiatrist must remain alert to changing clinical symptoms, especially with uncharacteristic disease presentations.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2017/2735329
spellingShingle Nikhil Yegya-Raman
Rehan Aziz
Daniel Schneider
Anthony Tobia
Megan Leitch
Onyi Nwobi
A Case of Sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease Presenting as Conversion Disorder
Case Reports in Psychiatry
title A Case of Sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease Presenting as Conversion Disorder
title_full A Case of Sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease Presenting as Conversion Disorder
title_fullStr A Case of Sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease Presenting as Conversion Disorder
title_full_unstemmed A Case of Sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease Presenting as Conversion Disorder
title_short A Case of Sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease Presenting as Conversion Disorder
title_sort case of sporadic creutzfeldt jakob disease presenting as conversion disorder
url http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2017/2735329
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