A Thornhill woman has died from a rare brain disease which affects just one person in every million each year worldwide.

Ann Marsden, 68, started acting out of character before Christmas and reluctantly agreed to see her GP.

But within a week of being admitted to hospital she was unable to talk or even recognise her husband Brian of 30 years.

He said: “It just came out of no-where. It was so quick. It was like one day we were doing everything together, the next she didn’t recognise me.”

After extensive tests doctors diagnosed Ann with sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD) - a rare form of dementia which causes rapid brain damage.

Brian, a retired accountant, recalled: “She wouldn’t go to her GP and kept putting it off. We eventually went between Christmas and New Year and the doctor arranged for tests.

“I was worried and thought she may have had a stroke but she wasn’t showing all the symptoms and just kept saying she felt scared, but was unable to explain why.

Ann’s GP referred her for an MRI scan and gave her tablets for a bladder infection but her symptoms progressed.

Brian explained: “She was refusing to take her tablets.

“She kept saying I was trying to poison her.

Brian Marsden of Ings Crescent, Thornhill, whose wife Ann died suddenly from rare disease CJD.

“I was on the phone to our daughter and she started raining punches on me.

“It was just totally out of character and deeply upsetting.

“She very confused.”

Ann refused to go for the MRI scan but was instead admitted to Dewsbury Hospital on January 5 before being transferred to the neurological ward at Pinderfields Hospital 10 days later.

Neurologists carried out tests which ruled out other conditions with similar symptoms, such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease or a brain tumour.

The diagnosis of sporadic CJD - which is caused by an abnormally shaped protein infecting the brain - was confirmed after analysing brain tissue from a biopsy.

Specialists from the National CJD Research Unit in Edinburgh also visited Ann to assist in their research to help understand more about the disease.

Brian, said: “She would open her eyes and look but wouldn’t see me. A slight smile would go across her face.”

Ann was given palliative care at Pinderfields Hospital and sadly passed away on February 8.

Brian added: “She was a marvellous woman. She was the nicest person you could ever want to meet.”

Ann’s funeral will be held on February 24 at Dewsbury Crematorium at 2pm.

For more information on CJD go to www.alzheimers.org.uk

What is Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease?

(CJD) is a rare form of irreversible dementia that comes on fast. It is caused by infectious proteins called prions. When they are not shaped properly, they can attack the brain, kill cells.

What are the symtoms of CJD?

On average, symptoms develop at age 60-65 years. Early symptoms include minor lapses of memory, mood changes and loss of interest. Within weeks the person may complain of clumsiness and feeling muddled, become unsteady walking, and have slow or slurred speech. Symptoms progress to jerky movements, shakiness, stiffness of limbs, incontinence and loss of the ability to move or speak.

There are four types of CJD:

Sporadic CJD - a normal brain protein changes abnormally (‘misfolds’) and turns into a prion.

Variant CJD - caused by consuming meat from a cow that had BSE or ‘mad cow disease’, a similar prion disease to CJD.

Familial CJD - is a very rare genetic condition

Iatrogenic CJD - is spread from someone with CJD through medical or surgical treatment.

How is CJD treated?

There’s currently no cure for CJD, however active research is being carried out. People affected by CJD usually die within six months of their early symptoms.