An autopsy-verified case of FTLD-TDP type A with upper motor neuron-predominant motor neuron disease mimicking MM2-thalamic-type sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease

Here we report an autopsy-verified case of frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD)-transactivation responsive region (TAR) DNA binding protein (TDP) type A with upper motor neuron-predominant motor neuron disease mimicking MM2-thalamic-type sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (sCJD). A 69-year-old woman presented with an 11-month history of progressive dementia, irritability, insomnia, and gait disturbance without a family history of dementia or prion disease. Neurological examination revealed severe dementia, frontal signs, and exaggerated bilateral tendon reflexes. Periodic sharp-wave complexes were not observed on the electroencephalogram. Brain diffusion MRI did not reveal abnormal changes. An easy Z score (eZIS) analysis for ^99mTc-ECD-single photon emission computed tomography (^99mTc-ECD-SPECT) revealed a bilateral decrease in thalamic regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF). PRNP gene analysis demonstrated methionine homozygosity at codon 129 without mutation. Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) analysis showed normal levels of both 14-3-3 and total tau proteins. Conversely, prion protein was slowly amplified in the CSF by a real-time quaking-induced conversion assay. Her symptoms deteriorated to a state of akinetic mutism, and she died of sudden cardiac arrest, one year after symptom onset. Despite the SPECT results supporting a clinical diagnosis of MM2-thalamic-type sCJD, a postmortem assessment revealed that this was a case of FTLD-TDP type A, and excluded prion disease. Thus, this case indicates that whereas a bilateral decreasing thalamic rCBF detected by ^99mTc-ECD-SPECT can be useful for diagnosing MM2-thalamic-type sCJD, it is not sufficiently specific. Postmortem diagnosis remains the gold standard for the diagnosis of this condition.