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50-Year Latency: CJD Linked to Contaminated Growth Hormone

5/17/2025

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Summary

Story summary

A tragic case of a 58-year-old woman succumbing to Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) has emerged, likely linked to contaminated human growth hormone treatments from her childhood. This heartbreaking incident, reported in Emerging Infectious Diseases, marks the longest latency period for HGH-related CJD, surfacing nearly 50 years later. Medical experts caution that others exposed before 1977 may face similar risks.

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Story summary

A tragic case of a 58-year-old woman succumbing to Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) has emerged, likely linked to contaminated human growth hormone treatments from her childhood. This heartbreaking incident, reported in Emerging Infectious Diseases, marks the longest latency period for HGH-related CJD, surfacing nearly 50 years later. Medical experts caution that others exposed before 1977 may face similar risks.