Differential diagnosis of rapidly progressive dementia in this clinical context
| Category | Diseases |
| Vascular | CNS vasculitis, dural arteriovenous fistula |
| Infections | Prion diseases (Cruetzfeldt-Jakob disease), neurosyphilis, HIV dementia, mycobacterial and fungal infection, Lyme disease, progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy, SSPE, Whipple’s disease |
| Toxic and metabolic | Vitamin deficiencies (vitamin B12, B1, B6, folic acid), Wernicke‘s encephalopathy, heavy metal toxicity (lead, mercury, bismuth), recreational drug use, hepatic encephalopathy |
| Endocrine | Hypothyroidism |
| Autoimmune | Autoimmune encephalitis, Hashimoto’s encephalopathy |
| Neoplasm | CNS lymphoma, intravascular lymphoma, multiple metastases, gliomatosis cerebri, carcinomatous meningitis |
| Inherited metabolic disorder | Leukodystrophy (metachromatic leukodystrophy, Krabbe‘s disease, adrenoleukodystrophy), Kufs' disease, cerebrotendinous xanthomatosis, adult GM2 gangliosidosis, Niemann-Pick disease type C, mitochondrial disease, Wilson’s disease |
| Neurodegenerative | Frontotemporal dementia, neurodegeneration with brain iron accumulation |
| Systemic/others | Sarcoidosis, CNS lupus, connective tissue disorders |
CNS, central nervous system; SSPE, subacute sclerosing panencephalitis.