Essay about The Possible Mechanisms of Scrapie Contraction

In bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), the disease is caused by the misfolding of proteins that cause proteins and peptides to develop a fibrillary structure. The PrPc is a correctly folded prion and the misfolded form is called PrPSc. BSE occurs when the normal PrPc come into contact with the toxic PrPSc and the normal prion takes on the shape of the PrPSc. The normal chaperones are unable to convert the PrPSc back to the normal form. The PrPSc now takes on the role of chaperone and the conversion of PrPc prions continue over and over. PrPSc, now being hydrophobic avoids the water of the inner cell and begin to accumulate and form plaques along the neuronal cell membranes. The aggregation of the prions on the cell membrane eventually lead to cell death which produces the sponge-like appearance in the brain of cattle infected with BSE (Thompson, 2014).

There is now strong scientific suspicion that the agent responsible for the outbreak of prion disease in cows, bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE or 'mad cow' disease), is the same agent responsible for the outbreak of vCJD in humans. Variant CJD (vCJD) is not the same disease as classic CJD It has different clinical and pathologic characteristics. Each disease also has a particular genetic profile of the prion protein gene. Both disorders are fatal brain diseases with unusually long periods measured in years, and are caused by a transmissible agent called a

It was a challenge for researchers to find a cure because of how new these strands were, and there was also pressure to find these cures soon due to how fast this virus could have, and in some cases did, move through populations. Shortly after his expedition to Kitum Cave, Gene Johnson says this quote from Louis Pasteur, a 19th century microbiologist, “Chance favors the prepared mind.” This quotation applied to the situation because those who knew how to handle this virus ended up being far more successful than those with no experience. Therefore, the author aims to point out that those who treated the virus with ignorance had created danger by approaching their situations with carelessness, which ultimately leads to

One of the most complex and unexplored disease causing agents are viruses. They are known to be able to infect a wide array of organisms, from plants and animals, to bacteria and fungi. Essentially, anything that is living is capable of being infected with a virus. Once the host's cell is infected, the viruses' goal is to produce more viruses which will infect neighboring cells to continue the cycle.

virus, bacteria, or parasite that has ever existed on this planet, we have the very real possibility of

This disease gets its name from the German neurologist Hans Gerhard Creutzfeldt and Alfons Maria Jakob that first identified this disease. (Victor, 2015) VCJD is primarily found in the brain of the cattle. Abnormal proteins called prions have thought to be the cause of this disease in both cattle and in humans. These prions cause tiny holes that look like a sponge under a microscope. (Melissa Conrad Stöppler, 2015) Unlike most viruses and bacteria these prions unfortunately do not die when exposed to heat, ultraviolet light, and radiation. Disinfectants that are usually used to kill viruses and bacteria also do not work to kill prions. Even cooking the meat very well will not lower the risk of prions in the

Proteinaceous Infectious Particles, commonly known as Prions, are extremely rare misfolds of the protein PrPc, which cause fatally neurodegenerative diseases, and are theorized to be infectious only by the protein itself (U.S National Library of Medicine, 1998). This “protein-only theory” is still heavily debated today, as some scientists deny the theory, and there isn’t a significant amount of evidence on each side to qualify the theory or disprove it (Soto, C. 2011). The base “Prion” protein is encoded in the gene PRNP, while being non-infectious. Prions are most commonly found in human prion diseases, but they can also be in other animals in the form of Mad Cow Disease and Chronic Wasting Disease, classified as Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathies

But before those studies could be carried out, and before widespread use of maggot therapy was imaginable, several technical challenges first had to be overcome.

is to a great degree safe. Moreover, the quantity of cases in the U.K. has diminished drastically over the previous decades. Still, the main supreme approach to keep away from contamination is to altogether dispose of the utilization of meat and different creatures that might be prion-tainted. Drain and drain items from sheep can transmit prions; as of now bovine's milk has not been connected as a method for prion transmittal yet few studies have been finished

the fact that there was little significant evidence to study the virus, most victims were now buried

Transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs) are neurodegenerative diseases that are thought to be caused by the misfolding of prion proteins. Prions are able to replicate in the absence of nucleic acids. TSEs include: scrapie, bovine spongiform encephalopathy, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, kuru, Gerstmann-Straussler-Scheinker disease, and Fatal Familial Insomnia. They can affect many different animals, including humans. Currently, there are no ways to diagnose, treat, or cure TSEs, as much more research is needed before these diseases are completely understood.

In the beginning, they thought that the practice of cannibalism was the reason for this disease. After many years of study and research they learned that was so. Michael Alper, Carlton Gajdusek, and Shirley Linderbaum were directly involved and responsible for discovering the source, mapping its progression, and finding the first victim of Kuru. Through their Study and research Linderbaum determined that the first person afflicted in this tribe was back in the early 1900. Alper figured out that it was being transmitted through the mortuary eating of the brain in particular and Gajdusek and the others discerned that Scrapie, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease and Kuru the way they transmitted were closely related and they believe that the first person came down with Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease which is a spontaneous change in the brain, they died and were consumed. They proved that it was transmittable from humans to primates and from animals to humans. Later, Biochemist Stanley Prusiner gave the named a new pathogen in over 100 years, Prion, a protein that duplicates itself by recruiting other protein replicating itself and infecting the brain, organs and vascular system. What made this pathogen special and very different was that it has no know antibodies, it was incredibly small nearly 1000 times smaller than any infecting

I frantically scanned the pages of the investigation, to find the genetic mutation in the killer virus that was quickly causing the most devastating pandemic in human history. It was imperative to find the genetic mutation, because it was that gene which allowed the virus to impersonate its host’s domestic cells, making any treatment virtually impossible.

In Paleolithic times, there were far better options for sources of meat in peoples’ diets. Human meet packs only 650 calories per pound of muscle, while a boar has 1,800 calories per pound of muscle. In modern times, we have far more options for meat. According to Victoria Stern a writer for scieneline, Cannibalism has also been linked to prion diseases. In prion disease, the prion protein (PrP) folds up the wrong way, becoming a prion and then causes other PrP molecules to do the same. This then leads to damage or destruction of nerve cells. One of the major prion diseases linked to cannibalism is kuru. In the early 20th century, the Fore, a group of cannibals in the eastern highlands of Papua New Guinea were ravished by kuru. After the Australian authorities banned their practice, the cases of kuru declined and no new cases have emerged. While there is no concluding evidence on cannibalism causing kuru, there does seem to be a relationship.

the ones that cause the well known “ mad cow ” disesase in Britain and “scrapie”