Kuru

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Central nervous system

Symptoms of kuru include:

• Arm and leg pain
• Coordination problems that become severe
• Difficulty walking (cerebellar ataxia)
• Headache
• Swallowing difficulty
• Tremors and muscle jerks (myoclonus)

Difficulty swallowing and beiong unable to feed oneself. This can lead to malnutrition or starvation.

The average time from exposure to symptoms (incubation period) is 10 to 13 years, but incubation periods of 30 years or even longer have been reported.

A neurological exam may show changes in coordination and walking ability.

Review Date: 12/07/2010
Reviewed By: David C. Dugdale, III, MD, Professor of Medicine, Division of General Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine; Jatin M. Vyas, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor in Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Assistant in Medicine, Division of Infectious Disease, Department of Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.

A.D.A.M., Inc. is accredited by URAC, also known as the American Accreditation HealthCare Commission (www.urac.org).

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