Impairment of the peripheral nervous system in Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.

Background: The clinical manifestations of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) primarily reflect involvement of the central nervous system. The coexistence of CJD with peripheral nervous system involvement has also been reported.

Objective: To analyze peripheral neuron electrophysiologic changes and to compare these data with neuropathologic features of spinal motor neurons in patients with definite CJD.