Elevated Cerebrospinal Fluid Lactic Acid Levels in Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease

Abstract
The concentration of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) lactic acid was determined in three patients with biopsy proven Creutzfeldt-Jacob disease (CJD). When compared with twenty demented patients diagnosed as having either Alzheimer's disease or multi-infarct dementia, the CSF lactic acid values of the CJD patients were significantly elevated (p <. 001). Elevated CSF lactic acid levels may be an important biochemical marker of CJD and useful in the differential diagnosis of dementia.