Three patients with Gerstmann-Sträussler-Scheinker
disease (GSS) caused by a serine-for-phenylalanine substitution
at codon 198 of the prion protein gene (PRNP) were compared
to 9 age- and education-matched non-mutation-carriers from
the same large Indiana kindred (GSS–IK) on a comprehensive
neuropsychological test battery. Clinically significant
impairments in intelligence, secondary memory, attention
and cognitive processing speed, executive ability, and
manual motor skills were noted in 2 patients. The wide
range and the severity of the cognitive deficits indicated
generalized cerebral dysfunction consistent with global
dementia. One patient, symptomatic for less than 1 year,
had more selective deficits involving memory, motor skills,
and verbal fluency, suggesting early subcortical involvement.
(JINS, 1997, 3, 169–178.)