Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) is a rare neurodegenerative disorder. Since the 
emergence of variant CJD (vCJD) vigilance concerning the disease's incidence has 
increased and the interest in accurate in vivo diagnosis has augmented. So far, 
a large number of biomarkers has been investigated as aid in the differential 
diagnosis of sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (sCJD) and vCJD. These include, 
among others, neuron-specific enolase (NSE), microtubuli associated protein Tau, 
S-100beta, amyloid-beta (Abeta(1-42)) and the 14-3-3 protein. Multiple studies 
have confirmed that CSF detection of 14-3-3 protein by Western blot was the best 
single biomarker for sCJD with an average sensitivity and specificity of 92%. 
Also, in genetic and iatrogenic CJD (iCJD) patients with an average disease 
duration of less than 1 year, 14-3-3 is the best differential biomarker. 
Unfortunately, the 14-3-3 protein has a lower sensitivity if the disease 
duration exceeds beyond 1 year in both sporadic CJD and other CJD types (vCJD, 
and specific genetic or iatrogenic CJD types).