Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD)

Prions are infectious agents that attack the central nervous system and then invade the brain, causing dementia. The best-known prion disease is Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, or CJD.

For more details of the symptoms, different types of CJD and the link between variant CJD and BSE see factsheet 442, Rarer causes of dementia.