Suggested links between different types of dementias: Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, Alzheimer disease, and retroviral CNS infections.

Several lines of investigation identify common features of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, Alzheimer disease, and retroviral CNS infections. We discuss salient neuropathological, genetic, transmission, and transformation properties that suggest there may be common pathways in the pathogenesis of dementias. We also briefly present potential retroviral mechanisms that may be implicated in all of these dementias.