A Unique Presentation of Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease in a Patient Consuming Deer Antler Velvet

Abstract

Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD) is a rare rapidly progressive neurodegenerative prion disorder that is usually sporadic but may also be acquired from exposure to infected sources, classically via infections of bovine or human etiology. Cervid transmission of CJD is of particular concern in North America given the rapid spread of Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD)- the Cervid version of CJD. We present a 61-year-old male patient admitted to our service with a one month history of progressive confusion and gait instability, which led to an initial suspicion of Corticobasal Syndrome (CBS) with unusually rapid progression. CJD was also suspected upon learning that the patient began taking deer antler velvet and bovine colostrum supplements roughly two months prior. The diagnosis of CJD was subsequently confirmed by MRI and RT-QuIC CSF assay. Providers should consider Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease in the differential diagnosis of a patient with cervid exposure and/or in patients with a presentation resembling corticobasal degeneration, especially if symptom onset is rapid. Although it is unclear how this patient acquired CJD, the potential for prion transmission from cervids to humans should be further investigated by the academic community with considerable urgency.