Like CJD, why haven’t we developed treatments so the disease isn’t a death sentence?
In: 3
Prions are a type of protein present in the nervpus system of some animals (the most famous are humans, cows and sheep) which has two different forms (or configurations): the normal one, and the infectious one (the prion itself). Prions can change the form of nearby proteins, which stop being functioning, producing mental illnesses such aa mad cow disease, scrapie in sheeps, and CJD in humans.
Mad cow disease became famous around 2000 irc because cow remains containing prions were being used to feed other cows infecting them. But other forms, like CJD and Scrapie, are genetic, so the only way of preventing them is via breeding.
The problem with treating the illness itself is that, like Alzheimer’s, its degenerative, so it destroys tissue and structures wich cannot br regenerated.
Latest Answers