Prion Disease News and Research

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Study confirms strong barrier preventing chronic wasting disease transmission to humans

A new study of prion diseases, using a human cerebral organoid model, suggests there is a substantial species barrier preventing transmission of chronic wasting disease (CWD) from cervids-;deer, elk and moose-;to people.

17 May 2024

Boosting mitochondrial health can reverse protein clumping in aging and Alzheimer's

It has long been known that a hallmark of Alzheimer's disease, and most other neurodegenerative diseases, is the clumping together of insoluble protein aggregates in the brain.

16 May 2024

Novel gene-delivery vehicle shows promise for treating brain disorders

In an important step toward more effective gene therapies for brain diseases, researchers from the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard have engineered a gene-delivery vehicle that uses a human protein to efficiently cross the blood-brain barrier and deliver a disease-relevant gene to the brain in mice expressing the human protein.

16 May 2024

Repurposing human-approved drugs for prion disease treatment

Prions are the abnormal, pathogenic agents that are transmissible and are able to induce abnormal folding of specific normal cellular proteins.

16 May 2024

Possibility of wildlife-to-human crossover heightens concern about chronic wasting disease

Each fall, millions of hunters across North America make their way into forests and grasslands to kill deer. Over the winter, people chow down on the venison steaks, sausage, and burgers made from the animals.

2 Feb 2024

Researchers provide a framework for unifying and categorizing neurodegenerative diseases based on eight hallmarks

Researchers presented eight hallmarks of neurodegenerative diseases (NDDs), their in vivo biomarkers, and interactions to help categorize NDDs and specify patients within a specific NDD.

21 Feb 2023

Could trained scent-detection dogs be used for chronic wasting disease surveillance?

A recent study published in Prion investigated whether trained scent-detection dogs could be used for chronic wasting disease (CWD) surveillance.

13 Feb 2023

Novel prion strain causes chronic wasting disease in a Finland moose

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19 Jan 2023

Brain changes can be studied in very early stages of neurodegenerative diseases

Many changes take place in the brain long before symptoms appear. This has been shown in mice in two studies of prion diseases in which the brain gradually deteriorates.

10 Oct 2022

NPDPSC at Case Western Reserve University to receive CDC funding for better understanding of prion diseases

The National Prion Disease Pathology Surveillance Center at Case Western Reserve University will receive up to $20 million in funding as part of a grant renewal from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to better understand how and why prion diseases––degenerative brain conditions found in both humans and animals-;develop and spread.

20 Sep 2022

Researchers uncover the structure of protein fibrils linked to hereditary form of human prion disease

In a new study, researchers from the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine have identified the structure of protein fibrils linked to a hereditary form of human prion disease.

12 Sep 2022

Prion imaging could lead to better understanding of what causes fatal neurological disorders

Prion diseases are incurable, deadly neurological disorders that can affect both humans and animals–including Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD) in people, Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (also known as Mad Cow Disease) and Chronic Wasting Disease found in deer.

13 Jul 2022

New technologies for early clinical diagnosis of human prion diseases

Early and accurate diagnosis of human prion diseases is a long-standing difficulty. Currently, the definitive diagnosis of human prion diseases relies on pathognomonic histological features or PrPSc detection of patients' brain tissue biopsy or autopsy samples, which is not feasible in most cases.

11 Jan 2022

New study shines light on how brain cells die in prion diseases

Prion diseases, such as Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD), are fast-moving, fatal dementia syndromes associated with the formation of aggregates of the prion protein, PrP.

22 Dec 2021

First insights into human prion disease could help tackle neurodegenerative diseases

Surface features of human prions have been identified for the first time, which may provide key information into treatments of neurodegenerative diseases.

18 Jun 2021

Study finds new clues to explain how Alzheimer’s disease spreads in the brain

Case Western Reserve University researchers studying prions-;misfolded proteins that cause lethal incurable diseases-;have identified for the first time surface features of human prions responsible for their replication in the brain.

18 Jun 2021

Study finds locations of early prion protein accumulation in the eye

The earliest eye damage from prion disease takes place in the cone photoreceptor cells, specifically in the cilia and the ribbon synapses, according to a new study of prion protein accumulation in the eye by National Institutes of Health scientists.

29 Jan 2021

Experimental drug can reverse age-related memory decline in mice

Just a few doses of an experimental drug can reverse age-related declines in memory and mental flexibility in mice, according to a new study by UC San Francisco scientists.

1 Dec 2020

New breakthrough may help cure prion disease

A molecular biologist at the University of Massachusetts Amherst who has for decades studied the nightmarish group of fatal diseases caused by prions - chronic wasting disease in deer, mad cow in cattle and its human analog - credits a middle-of-the-night dream for a crucial insight, a breakthrough she hopes could lead to a cure.

6 May 2020

Game-changing diagnostic test for prion diseases

Researchers have developed an effective way of testing for prion diseases, a group of fatal neurodegenerative illnesses caused by abnormally folded proteins.

8 Nov 2019

Prion Disease News and Research

Study confirms strong barrier preventing chronic wasting disease transmission to humans

Boosting mitochondrial health can reverse protein clumping in aging and Alzheimer's

Novel gene-delivery vehicle shows promise for treating brain disorders

Repurposing human-approved drugs for prion disease treatment

Possibility of wildlife-to-human crossover heightens concern about chronic wasting disease

Researchers provide a framework for unifying and categorizing neurodegenerative diseases based on eight hallmarks

Could trained scent-detection dogs be used for chronic wasting disease surveillance?

Novel prion strain causes chronic wasting disease in a Finland moose

Brain changes can be studied in very early stages of neurodegenerative diseases

NPDPSC at Case Western Reserve University to receive CDC funding for better understanding of prion diseases

Researchers uncover the structure of protein fibrils linked to hereditary form of human prion disease

Prion imaging could lead to better understanding of what causes fatal neurological disorders

New technologies for early clinical diagnosis of human prion diseases

New study shines light on how brain cells die in prion diseases

First insights into human prion disease could help tackle neurodegenerative diseases

Study finds new clues to explain how Alzheimer’s disease spreads in the brain

Study finds locations of early prion protein accumulation in the eye

Experimental drug can reverse age-related memory decline in mice

New breakthrough may help cure prion disease

Game-changing diagnostic test for prion diseases

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