Variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease: neuropsychological profile in an extended series of cases.

Neuropsychological data on an extended series of cases of variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (vCJD) are presented, complementing earlier findings from smaller sample studies of this condition. Distinct neuropsychological features in this extended series included relatively preserved verbal knowledge, immediate verbal memory span, and elementary Visual processing. This sparing contrasted with ubiquitous impairment in every vCJD patient on timed tests of verbal fluency and digit-symbol substitution. There were also high rates of impairment on tests of memory, and of visuoperceptual and visuospatial reasoning. our findings lend Support to the view that distinctive neuropsychological features may be one of the diagnostic markers of the condition. (JINS. 2009, 15, 807-810.)