Doctors often initially misdiagnose people with Jakob-Creutzfeldt disease, a rare brain disorder caused by misfolded, infectious prion proteins, according to new research. Jakob-Creutzfeldt disease, or CJD, is marked by rapid brain wasting and dementia and typically kills patients within a year after symptoms appear. According to the National Institutes of Health, there are about 200 cases each year in the United States.
