The UCSF Memory and Aging Center provides a brain autopsy service for patients registered and seen at UCSF.
Autopsy is the only way to confirm the CJD diagnosis and can be invaluable to both families and researchers. It can also clarify which type of CJD your loved one had.
- Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease can only be proven with certainty through an autopsy. The diagnosis given in a clinical setting is based on neurological, neuropsychological and radiological assessments. However, this diagnosis is never definitive before pathologically proven by autopsy. In rare circumstances a brain biopsy might be performed, but this is a risky procedure and results may not be accurate. By confirming or refuting our clinical diagnosis, the autopsy improves our ability to diagnose CJD earlier and more accurately.
- Without brain tissue donations, the development of better treatment for future generations would be severely limited. CJD tissue is rare and greatly needed.
- With an autopsy, the effects of CJD on the brain can be studied in detail and evaluated visually.
An autopsy can provide closure for family members as otherwise the final diagnosis will never be known for certain. Autopsy provides answers that help the grieving process.
An autopsy does not delay or complicate any funeral, cremation, or burial plans. Removal of the brain does not prevent an open casket, embalming or other traditional funeral arrangements. In most cases, the autopsy plan is compatible with the family’s choice of funeral home and religious practices. Requests to withdraw from the autopsy program will be honored at any time, even after prior agreement to participate.
For more information or if you find resistance from medical or funerary staff, please contact our Autopsy Coordinator.