[Iatrogenic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. Lessons from cases secondary to extracted growth hormone in France].

Thirty cases of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) after cadaveric growth hormone treatment have been counted by the National Reference Center for iatrogenic CJD. The clinic presentation is homogeneous, beginning by neurological troubles (diplopia, unsteady gait) evolving rapidly in few months towards a severe neurological deterioration, insanity and death. All patients were treated between January 1984 and July 1985. The risk to transmit CJD with treatments of human origin (pituitary derived treatment, blood, placentas and corneal and dura mater graft) is analyzed. The selection of donors and techniques of purification on the one hand, the rigor of the indication and the quality of the followup on the other hand, are the only guarantees to reduce the risks secondary to utilization of products of human origin.