What is Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease or CJD? Actress Victoria Anastasi known for her appearances in House of Cards and Veep passes away

Actress Victoria Anastasi passed away on January 10, 2025, after a battle with Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD), according to her friend Alexis Miller's social media post. In the post, Miller said that Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease was a hereditary disease that ran in her family.

Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease is a rare brain disease that leads to dementia and also causes the body to deteriorate faster, leading to the patient's death. The disease is caused by prions, or faulty proteins, in the brain. Faulty prion proteins turn normal protein cells into prions, which is why the disease quickly turns severe.

Victoria Anastasi is best known for her role as Samantha Collins in the 2016 movie Restoration. She also appeared in cameo roles in shows like House of Cards, Veep, Homicide Hunter, and Uncoupled, among others

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What is Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease or CJD, and what causes it?

Actress Victoria Anatasi. [Image via Facebook/@ Sarah Robinson Kilinski]

According to the Cleveland Clinic report, CJD is caused by prions, which spread rapidly because they are "resilient," and there is no way to avoid them. The prions cannot be destroyed like viruses or bacteria. Cleveland Clinic also noted that since a person's immunity system cannot stop prions, there is no way to "develop immunity to CJD" and neither is there a vaccine to prevent it. The abnormal prions are developed for unknown reasons.

There are four types of Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease, sporadic, familial, acquired, and variant. The most common type is sporadic. According to the Cleveland Clinic, around 85% of Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease cases are sporadic.

Around 15% of the cases are familial, where the faulty prion gene is inherited from the family. Acquired CJD is when the patient gets the prions from another through medical or surgical treatments, including organ or tissue transplants, grafts, contaminated surgical equipment, etc. It is not contagious and is rare, as less than 1% of cases are acquired.

The last type is Variant CJD, which occurs in patients who consume beef infected with prions, which also cause mad cow disease in cattle.

According to the Mayo Clinic, there are several common symptoms of Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease. They include sudden jerky movements, memory loss, insomnia, blurry vision or blindness, personality changes, impaired thinking, problems with coordination, and trouble with speaking and swallowing.

According to the Cleveland Clinic, prevention or treatment for this disease is not possible, and the patient's condition worsens quickly. Most patients die after a few months or a year from diagnosis. Because it develops and worsens quite quickly, the Cleveland Clinic has advised family members to seek support or resources.

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Actress Victoria Anastasi's viewing will be held on January 23, 2025. The funeral will be held in her hometown, La Plata, Maryland on January 24, 2025, at Sacred Heart Church.

Anastasi's friend shared that the actress loved flowers, and people can donate flowers through Potomac Floral Design. In the same Facebook post, she also shared a link to the CJD foundation, letting people know they can donate to help fund research.