The Nature of the Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease Essay -- Exploratory Essay

The Nature of the Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease   Dementia is traditionally considered to be peerless of the possible results of aging.  Its effects are heartbreaking and tremendously beat for the patient as well as their family and friends.  There are galore(postnominal) factors to consider.  What would be the outdo treatment plan for my love unitary?  Who would supervise for them?  These are all very difficult decisions that impact the patient and family for days to come.  But what if you only had a few months to make these decisions?  What if all your loved one had was a few very ill-considered months before they were at peace(p)?  In Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD), the situation is just that.  With no known acquire or cure, CJD takes the patient and family completely by surprise.  Time is precious when you unwrap new changes arising day after day in areas such as movement, speech and cognition.  How could you m ake them as comfortable as posssible?  What could have caused these choppy changes?  What treatment options do you have in such a short period of time?  Most importantly will my loved one be able to express their needs to me?      Creutzfeldt-Jakob is considered to be a contagious dementia or transmissible spongiform encephalopathy, which means that the spread of the disease is uniform to that of viruses.  Further studies have shown that instead of a virus, Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease or CJD, is considered to be caused by a proteinaceous infection agent or prion (Asher et al, 2000) that attacks tenderness cells causing vacuolization, the formation of holes in the cell, and eventually cell death.  To date on that point are no effective screenin... ...ore to be learned.  The important factor during the signifier of CJD is the patient.  We as Speech Pathologists must ask ourselves a few questions.  Was the best interests of the patient met for as long as they could have been?  Was the family aware of any and all support and community groups available to them during this difficult time?  If we as SLPs can answer these questions with a yes, then we have done our jobs indeed.  To those who involoved with CJD, thank you.  Because of the researchers, therapists, and families of CJD patients, we have the knowledge we have today.  This knowledge will continue to grow, providing tests, screening measures and maybe some day a cure.  To live with the hope that one day another person will not have to drop dead what sorrows you have can be a great motivation.