[A case of the panencephalopathic type of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease with retinal involvement]

Abstract

Neuropathological study of the visual pathway from the retina to the occipital cortex in Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) has been scarcely performed. In the present study, pathological involvement of the visual pathway was observed in a 54-year-old man with CJD. The patient had the onset of visual disturbances in December 1985. He subsequently developed progressive dementia, right hemiparesis, ataxia and dysarthria, and rapidly fell into decerebrate posture in February 1986. In March 1986, myoclonus appeared on the whole body and EEG revealed periodic synchronous discharges, while brain CT and CSF findings showed no abnormalities. Myoclonus was observed most frequently from May to October 1986, and then reduced gradually. Brain atrophy on CT started from April 1986, and was progressive till the end stage of the disease. He died in January 1988, and the total clinical course was about 24 months. Neuropathological examination revealed severe degeneration of the cerebral cortex and the white matter. In the cerebral cortex, marked loss of neurons, astrogliosis, and spongiform changes were observed. In the cerebral white matter, the destruction of myelin sheaths and axons were evident. The cerebellum showed prominent loss of granule cells. These findings are consistent with those of the panencephalopathic type of CJD. In the visual pathway, loss of ganglion cells and bipolar cells in the retina, mild demyelination of the optic nerve, neuronal loss in the lateral geniculate body, and severe degeneration in the visual cortex were observed. The present case suggests that the neuropathological investigation in the visual pathway from the retina to the occipital cortex is important for clarifying the pathological processes in the visual system in CJD.