Background:

Little is known about the clinical characteristics and significance of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) in Mexico.

Objective:

This study aimed to conduct a retrospective revision and analysis of the clinical cases of Mexican patients with CJD available in the literature.

Methods:

We systematically searched electronic databases for studies in English and Spanish conducted in Mexico over the period of 1990-2020 that involved Mexican patients with any of the clinical forms of CJD. Clinical variables were extracted from the selected studies that met eligibility criteria. Descriptive statistics were used to characterize the study population.

Results:

A total of seven studies were included in the analysis. From these, 29 cases were revised, and their clinical characteristics analyzed. The median age at the time of diagnosis was 54 years (range 23-75 years). CJD was more frequent among females than male patients (male:female ratio 1:1.41). Most patients resided in Mexico City and the State of Mexico, and 93% attended public hospitals. The most frequent form of CJD was sporadic, with only two probable cases of familiar disease. The most common clinical symptoms observed in order or frequency were rapidly progressive dementia (68.9%), cerebellar signs (51.7%), neuropsychiatric symptoms (51.7%), akinetic mutism (51.7%), myoclonus (44,8%), extrapyramidal signs (44.8%), visual disturbances (41.3%), pyramidal signs (31%), and sleep disorders (17.2%). Only 20% of the cases were confirmed by histopathological analysis of brain biopsy or autopsy specimens.

Conclusions:

Our study provides an overview of the main clinical characteristics of CJD in Mexican patients.