A previously healthy 63-year-old woman began experiencing difficulties with memory, balance, and fatigue. She rapidly declined over six months with worsening confusion, hallucinations, and gait difficulties. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) demonstrated T2 hyperintensity in the basal ganglia, thalamus, and cerebral cortex. Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) was sent to a highly specialized reference center and yielded the likely etiology of her symptoms. She died of her disease nine months after symptom onset. An autopsy was performed.
This quiz is no longer available.
Melissa Blessing, D.O.
Fellow, Neuropathology
Mayo Clinic
Instructor of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology
Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Sciences
Joseph Parisi, M.D.
Consultant, Division of Anatomic Pathology
Mayo Clinic
Professor of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology
Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Sciences