The role of stress and anxiety in the onset of familial Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD): Review

Abstract

Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD) is considered to be a sudden and fatal degenerative brain disorder that leads to death within a few months. In the last decade, we have studied the course of familial CJD (fCJD) among Jews of Libyan descent, one of the largest clusters of fCJD in the world. Recently, we published results that included the identification of abnormal anxiety levels in healthy CJD E200K mutation carriers that were significantly different from those of healthy non-carriers from the same families. All participants were first-degree relatives of patients known to have been carriers of the E200K mutation and had died from CJD, and none of the participants was aware of his/her genetic make-up. In the current review, it is suggested that an abnormality in anxiety levels among the healthy fCJD mutation carriers may reflect the clinical presentation of the disease onset especially during and after any stressful experience. This hypothesis is supported by a summary of relevant literature, dealing with psychological, physiological, and cellular aspects.