A Case of Gerstmann-Straussler-Scheinker Disease

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Gerstmann-Straussler-Scheinker disease (GSS) is a type of human transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE) that is determined genetically. CASE REPORT: A 46-year-old woman presented with a slowly progressive ataxic gait and cognitive decline. She was alert but did not cooperate well due to severe dementia and dysarthria. High signal intensities in the cerebral cortices were evident in MRI, especially in diffusion-weighted images (DWI). A prion protein gene (PRNP) analysis revealed a P102L (proline-to-leucine) mutation in codon 102. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first reported case of GSS (confirmed by PRNP analysis) in Korea. Distinctive MRI findings are also presented.