Brain dopamine transporter binding and glucose metabolism in progressive supranuclear palsy-like Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease

Abstract

Here, we present a patient with Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) who developed initial symptoms mimicking progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP). Before the development of typical CJD symptoms, functional imaging supported a diagnosis of PSP when [123I]-FP-CIT-SPECT showed a defect in striatal dopamine transporter binding, while [18F]-fluorodeoxyglucose PET showed cortical hypometabolism suggestive of Lewy body dementia. However, the postmortem neuropathological examination was indicative of CJD only, without tau protein or Lewy body findings. This case demonstrates that CJD should be taken into account in rapidly progressing atypical cases of parkinsonism, even when functional imaging supports a diagnosis of a movement disorder. © 2014 S. Karger AG, Basel.