Inability to walk due to scurvy: a forgotten disease

Scurvy has become rare in modern societies, but should be considered in malnourished persons, alcoholics, and in infants on unsupplemented milk diets who present with musculoskeletal pain or a bleeding tendency. The diagnosis of scurvy can be challenging because of the rare incidence and vague and nonspecific early symptoms. We report here a case of scurvy in a young boy who presented with an inability to walk and severe musculoskeletal pain. The diagnosis was established based on his clinical picture, radiological appearance, and low serum level of vitamin C. The patient responded well to vitamin C supplementation with full resolution of his symptoms. He regained his ability to walk and his family was happy and satisfied with the outcome of treatment. Although the incidence of scurvy has become low in Saudi Arabia, it can still occur and early recognition is important because of the excellent prognosis

Sporadic creutzfeldt Jacob disease

We report a 65-year-old lady who presented with rapidly progressive dementia and was found to have Creutzfeldt-Jacob disease [CJD]. On reviewing the literature, there have been only 3 case reports of CJD from Saudi Arabia. Our aim is to report this rare disease and to include it in the differential diagnosis of rapidly progressive dementia in our practice