Articles tagged with Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathy
A randomised controlled trial of breast self-examination in nearly 100,000 Russian women found no reduction in deaths from breast cancer. Instead, women who performed regular self-examinations had more frequent consultations for benign breast lesions, leading to increased anxiety and unnecessary surgical biopsies.
Scientists are working to create an animal that lacks the genomic architecture to code for normal prions, which cause Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) and Creutzfeldt-Jacob Disease. The goal is to produce a cow that is genetically incapable of producing prions, which could potentially contain the risks of this disease.
A Dartmouth study has found that RNA molecules can catalyze the transformation of normal prion proteins into disease-causing counterparts, potentially leading to early detection and treatment of prion diseases. The discovery opens new avenues for exploration in diagnosis and treatment of neurodegenerative disorders.
A new study found that genes protecting against prion diseases, which can be spread through eating contaminated flesh, have long been widespread globally. The research suggests that prehistoric humans practiced cannibalism, leading to the spread of protective genetic variations.
Researchers at Imperial College London have established a 'proof of principle' that prion diseases might be prevented using monoclonal antibody therapy. The treatment, which involves administering antibodies to mice infected with scrapie prions, appears to delay the onset of clinical disease indefinitely.
The US Fish and Wildlife Service has awarded Virginia Tech's Conservation Management Institute a contract to develop a national database for chronic wasting disease (CWD) research. The database will enable scientists to share information on the disease, improving their ability to address it nationwide.
Researchers at Ohio State University and MIT found that a specific protein misfolding in an organelle leads to the transmission of transmissible spongiform encephalopathies. The misfolded proteins accumulate in the cytosol, altering cell metabolism and killing neural cells.
A randomized trial of breast self-examination (BSE) in Shanghai found no difference in breast cancer mortality between BSE and control groups. However, women taught BSE had more benign breast lesions detected during every year of the trial.
Scientists at NIAID's Rocky Mountain Laboratories discovered a section of the prion protein that can prevent misfolding and progression to disease. This finding opens possibilities for therapy in animals and may one day help prevent degenerative brain diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.