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

The Nature of the Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease   Dementia is tradition totallyy considered to be unitary of the possible results of aging.  Its effects be heartbreaking and hugely exhausting for the patient as well as their family and friends.  There are many cyphers to consider.  What would be the best treatment plan for my love one?  Who would care for them?  These are all very difficult decisions that impact the patient and family for years to come.  But what if you only had a a few(prenominal) months to make these decisions?  What if all your loved one had was a few very short months in the beginning they were gone?  In Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD), the situation is just that.  With no know cause or cure, CJD takes the patient and family completely by surprise.  Time is unprecedented when you see new changes arising day after day in areas much(prenominal) as movement, speech and cognition.  How could you make t hem as comfortable as posssible?  What could shake caused these sudden changes?  What treatment options do you give birth in such a short period of eon?  Most importantly will my loved one be able to express their needs to me?      Creutzfeldt-Jakob is considered to be a transmissible dementia or transmissible spongiform encephalopathy, which means that the spread of the sickness is similar 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 nerve cells causing vacuolization, the formation of holes in the cell, and eventually cell death.  To age there are no effective screenin... ...ore to be learned.  The important factor during the course of CJD is the patient.  We as Speech Pathologists must ask ourselves a few questions.  Was the best interests of the patient m et for as long as they could have been?  Was the family awake 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 through 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 pass over to grow, providing tests, screening measures and maybe some day a cure.  To live with the fancy that one day another person will not have to endure what sorrows you have can be a great motivation.