Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease Foundation, Inc.

The Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD) Foundation, Inc., a national, voluntary, non-profit organization, is dedicated to promoting research into CJD, increasing awareness of the disorder, and reaching out to families with loved ones affected by CJD. Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease is an extremely rare degenerative brain disorder (i.e., spongiform encephalopathy) characterized by the sudden onset of rapidly progressive neurological and neuromuscular symptoms. Such symptoms, which may include lack of coordination, muscle weakness, impairment of vision, dementia, repeated shock-like muscle spasms (myoclonus), coma, and susceptibility to repeated respiratory infections, may result in life-threatening complications less than a year after the disorder becomes apparent. Established in 1993, the CJD Foundation collects and disseminates information on CJD, provides referrals, and offers general information on other human prion diseases such as Gerstmann-Straussler-Scheinker disease, kuru, and fatal familial insomnia as well as suspected prion disorders in animals (such as “mad cow disease”).