Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease or CJD is a fatal disease which causes rapid mental and physical collapse.
It has existed for ages and was described in the 1920s by two German doctors, Creutzfeldt and Jakob.
It is caused by a prion, which is a form of protein. The prion causes BSE in cattle and scrapie in sheep.
In the 1980s, cases first emerged in Britain and the US of adults dying of CJD who had been injected with CJD-infected human growth hormone in the 1960s and later.
More recently, a form called variant CJD has emerged and it is thought that this may be passed from infected animals to humans.
People with CJD usually die within six months of developing symptoms but can live longer.
Three cases of CJD were diagnosed in this country in 1997, six in 1998, one in 1999 and two in 2000. In addition, there was one case of variant CJD in 1999.
The CJD Support Network in the UK has provided information and emotional support to Irish families affected by the disease. Its helpline telephone number is 0044 1630 673973. Its postal address is CJD Support Network, Alzheimer's Disease Society, Gordon House, 10 Greencoat Place, London SW1P 1PH, UK and its website is at http://www.alzheimers.org.uk/cjd