May 25, 2001

10:30 AM

Death toll from nCJD passes 100.Is it me, or were we expecting a lot more than that? SEAC called for more post mortem examinations to be conducted on elderly people who die with suspected dementia, in case vCJD is being misdiagnosed as Alzheimer's or senility. Seems unlikely that a diagnosis of Alzheimer's or dementia could be made *without* a postmortem, but there ya go.
posted by methylsalicylate (2 comments total)

You're right that Alzheimer's cannot be critically diagnosed unless there's an autopsy. But increasingly doctors are reluctant to ask families to okay an autopsy. I hope that tendancy changes.
posted by LAM at 2:57 PM on May 25, 2001

Expecting more? Perhaps, but recall this disease has an extremely long latency period between infection, onset, and diagnosis. That makes identification all the more difficult. The peak may well be some years in the future. 28 last year, guessing 30-36 this year, means the incidence continues to rise.
posted by dhartung at 4:33 PM on May 25, 2001