Zoe Appleyard to launch International CJD Day

The colours of the balloons will represent the different strains of CJD, and each balloon will commemorate somebody who has died from the disease in the last ten years.

The launch will take place at the Glaxo Neurological Centre in Liverpool on Tuesday 12 November at 1pm.

Zoe Appleyard has been an active campaigner and supporter of both the CJD Support Network and the Life Neurological Research Trust, which her family established in memory of her late Aunt Baroness Ziki Wharton who died from sporadic CJD.

The idea for a one-day international conference devoted to CJD originated from the CJD Support Network. They will also be using the day to launch the publication of the first Nursing Guidelines on CJD written by the Queens Nursing Institute, and commissioned by the Network, with the backing of the Department of Health.

In addition, a new rose, Nina Nadine, which was specially cultivated in memory of the young people who have died from CJD, will be on presentation at the conference during the day.

Notes for editors

• In total, 703 balloons will be released. 502 yellow, in memory of people who have died with Sporadic CJD, 34 green, in memory of people who have died with Iatrogenic CJD, 50 white, for those who died from familial CJD and, finally, 117 red balloons for those who died of vCJD.
• Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) is one of a group of rare brain disorders known as prion diseases that occur both in humans and certain animals. The infectious agent, or prion, attacks the brain, killing cells. Gaps in brain tissue develop, giving the brain a characteristic sponge-like appearance under the microscope. Prions may exist in the body for many years before symptoms begin, but death may then result within a year.
• CJD usually attacks people over the age of 55. The number of confirmed cases of CJD has risen steadily in recent years. This may be due to more accurate diagnosis and an increased awareness of the disease, but is also due to the emergence of the new form of the disease - variant CJD.
• Sporadic CJD is statistically the most common form of CJD. In the UK during the last five years, 306 people have died with Sporadic CJD. Many move from being fit and active to dead within four months. Although this strain of the disease was first diagnosed in 1920 and occurs worldwide in similar numbers, it is thought to be naturally occurring in the brain. We still do not know the cause of Sporadic CJD.
• Iatrogenic CJD is transmitted through medical procedures. In the same period 25 people have died of this form of the disease. The CJD prion is very resistant to destruction. This means that despite modified medical procedures there are genuine fears that we may see many more cases of medical transmission in the future.
• Familial CJD is the very rare form of inherited CJD which runs in families. Sixteen deaths have been recorded in the UK in the last five years.
• vCJD, discovered in 1996, is linked to eating BSE infected beef. In the last five years we have seen 100 deaths, although annual incidence of vCJD cases seems to be increasing and we could see many more cases in the future, especially as there is an incubation period of up to 40 years.