Potential Epidemic of Creutzfeldt–Jakob Disease from Human Growth Hormone Therapy

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Abstract
A DECADE after the demonstration that Creutzfeldt—Jakob disease could be accidentally transmitted from one person to another during brain or eye surgery,1 , 2 iatrogenic Creutzfeldt—Jakob disease has reappeared as a result of earlier therapy with human growth hormone, with the ominous possibility of a burgeoning epidemic.Within just a few months, three young adults in the United States have died from the disease, confirmed neuropathologically in two patients and clinically detected but unconfirmed in one3; an additional neuropathologically confirmed case has been identified in Great Britain.4 Salient data on these four cases are summarized in Table 1. (The details of both . . .