Causes

The causes of corticobasal degeneration are unknown, but research suggests that a protein in the brain called tau may play a role in the disease. A buildup of tau in brain cells may lead to their deterioration and the symptoms of corticobasal degeneration.

It's important to know that you can have signs and symptoms that look like corticobasal degeneration but that are caused by another degenerative disease of the brain, such as progressive supranuclear palsy, Alzheimer's disease, Pick's disease and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. Half of the people who have signs and symptoms of corticobasal degeneration have another disease.