Mad Cow Disease News and Research

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Mad Cow Disease or BSE (bovine spongiform encephalopathy) is a progressive neurological disorder of cattle that results from infection by an unusual transmissible agent called a prion. The nature of the transmissible agent is not well understood. Currently, the most accepted theory is that the agent is a modified form of a normal protein known as prion protein. For reasons that are not yet understood, the normal prion protein changes into a pathogenic (harmful) form that then damages the central nervous system of cattle.

Structure of unique amyloid fibrils could lead to discovery of new antibiotics

The highly pathogenic Staphylococcus aureus bacteria is one of the five most common causes of hospital-acquired infections. In the US alone, approximately 500,000 patients at hospitals contract a staph infection. It is the bacteria responsible for MRSA, for which there is no vaccine.

24 Feb 2017

New detection method could lead to noninvasive diagnosis of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease

The detection of prions in the blood of patients with variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease could lead to a noninvasive diagnosis prior to symptoms and a way to identify prion contamination of the donated blood supply, according to researchers at McGovern Medical School at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston.

22 Dec 2016

Study finds blood thinning drugs derived from cattle and pigs have equivalent anti-clotting properties

As demand for the widely used blood thinning drug heparin continues to grow, experts worry of possible shortages of the essential medication.

6 Oct 2016

Prion proteins can drive emergence of new traits and adaptive opportunities

Prion proteins, best known as the agents of deadly brain disorders like mad cow disease, can help yeast survive hard times and pass the advantageous traits down to their offspring, according to a new study by researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine.

4 Oct 2016

Groundbreaking research unravels structure of infectious prions that cause mad cow disease

Groundbreaking research from the University of Alberta has identified the structure of the infectious prion protein, the cause of "mad cow disease" or BSE, chronic wasting disease in deer and elk and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in humans, which has long remained a mystery.

8 Sep 2016

Scientists unravel effect of prion proteins on the nerves

Ever since the prion gene was discovered in 1985, its role and biological impact on the neurons has remained a mystery.

9 Aug 2016

Researchers clarify beneficial function of brain protein linked to mad cow disease

Scientists have clarified details in understanding the beneficial function of a type of protein normally associated with prion diseases of the brain, such as bovine spongiform encephalopathy (commonly known as mad cow disease) and its human counterpart, variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.

8 Aug 2016

UTHealth researchers receive $11 million grant to study prion diseases

Led by Claudio Soto, Ph.D., researchers from McGovern Medical School at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston have been awarded $11 million from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases to study the pathogenesis, transmission and detection of prion diseases - such as chronic wasting disease in deer - that can potentially spread to humans.

30 Jun 2016

Actin filaments may be key to molecular machinery that forms, stores long-term memories

Thank the little "muscles" in your neurons for allowing you to remember where you live, what your friends and family look like and a lot more.

19 Apr 2016

Advanced assay offers better sensitivity for detecting a prion disease affecting elk

Transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs), or prion diseases, are a family of rare progressive, neurodegenerative illnesses that affect both humans and animals. TSE surveillance is important for public health and food safety because TSEs have the potential of crossing from animals to humans, as seen with the spread of mad cow disease, or bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE). A study in The Journal of Molecular Diagnostics describes an advanced assay that offers better sensitivity than currently available tests for detecting a prion disease affecting elk.

11 Apr 2016

Scientists propose that Alzheimer's disease should be treated separately

Deciphering the mechanism that underlies the development of Alzheimer's disease in certain families but not in others, researchers at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem's Faculty of Medicine have proposed that the malady is actually a collection of diseases that probably should be treated with a variety of different approaches.

4 Nov 2015

Novel approach promises easier way to detect protein fibers implicated in neuro-degenerative diseases

Liquid crystals are familiar to most of us as the somewhat humdrum stuff used to make computer displays and TVs. Even for scientists, it has not been easy to find other ways of using them.

24 Sep 2015

Research shows how prion-like proteins critical for maintaining long-term memories

Research from Eric Kandel's lab at Columbia University Medical Center has uncovered further evidence of a system in the brain that persistently maintains memories for long periods of time. And paradoxically, it works in the same way as mechanisms that cause mad cow disease, kuru, and other degenerative brain diseases.

3 Jul 2015

UAlberta scientists explore physical principles underlying formation of misfolded protein aggregates

Working towards the ultimate goal to develop therapeutics to treat diseases such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, ALS, and BSE (Mad Cow Disease), University of Alberta scientists Michael Woodside, Hao Yu, and Derek Dee are investigating the physical principles underlying the formation of misfolded protein aggregates.

26 Jun 2015

Academics from University of Zurich selected to receive EU's most prestigious research grant

Two male academics and one female academic from the University of Zurich have been selected to receive the EU's most prestigious research grant. Each will receive between 2.5 and 2.9 million Euro to support innovative research projects over the next five years.

1 Jun 2015

Grass plants can bind, uptake and transport infectious prions

Grass plants can bind, uptake and transport infectious prions, according to researchers at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth).

18 May 2015

Spanish scientists find apatite bioceramics from shark teeth for implants

Researchers from the BIOCAPS Area of 'Biomaterials, tissue engineering and regenerative medicine' have managed to obtain bioceramics from shark teeth, which have already tested applications in the regeneration of bone tissue, particularly in the fields of traumatology and odontology.

22 Apr 2015

Study identifies small loop in human prion protein that resists chronic wasting disease

Chronic wasting disease (CWD) — an infectious disease caused by prions — affects North American elk and deer, but has not been observed in humans. Using a mouse model that expresses an altered form of the normal human prion protein, researchers at University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have determined why the human proteins aren't corrupted when exposed to the elk prions.

24 Feb 2015

TSRI scientists discover novel mechanism involved in Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and ALS

Scientists from the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute have for the first time discovered a killing mechanism that could underpin a range of the most intractable neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and ALS.

16 Feb 2015

'Mad Cow' discovery points to possible neuron killing mechanism behind alzheimer’s and parkinson’s diseases

The new study, published recently in the journal Brain, revealed the mechanism of toxicity of a misfolded form of the protein that underlies prion diseases, such as bovine spongiform encephalopathy (“mad cow disease”) and its human equivalent, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.

13 Feb 2015