Prion News and Research

RSS

Researchers identify altered expression of endogenous retroviruses in BSE-infected macaques

Prion diseases such as Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in humans and bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in cattle are transmissible neurodegenerative diseases linked to the aggregation of the prion protein in the central nervous system.

1 Jul 2011

Key trigger to rare but deadly neurodegenerative disease

Jeremy Smith, Governor's Chair for Molecular Biophysics at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, has helped reveal a key trigger of Gerstmann-Str-ussler-Scheinker (GSS) syndrome, a rare but deadly neurodegenerative disease. The finding could have far-reaching implications for the treatment of other neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's, Huntington's, and Parkinson's.

23 Jun 2011

Insight into new prion formation

Unlocking the mechanisms that cause neurodegenerative prion diseases may require a genetic key, suggest new findings reported by University of Illinois at Chicago distinguished professor of biological sciences Susan Liebman.

27 May 2011

Travel, hunting, and venison consumption linked to prion diseases

Researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have examined the potential for human exposure to prion diseases, looking at hunting, venison consumption, and travel to areas in which prion diseases have been reported in animals.

23 May 2011

CSEW fails to protect public health by refusing to take part in variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease study

The creation of a post-mortem tissue archive for a study of the human form of mad cow disease failed because of a "misguided" refusal by coroners to participate.

9 May 2011

More opportunities to develop therapies for protein misfolding

Romping clumps of misfolded proteins are prime suspects in many neurological disorders including Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and Creutzfeld-Jakob Disease. Those diseases are devastating and incurable, but a team of biologists at Brown University reports that cells can fix the problems themselves with only a little bit of help. The insight suggests that there are more opportunities to develop a therapy for protein misfolding than scientists had thought.

21 Mar 2011

New research may shed light on possible treatments for prion diseases

New research by Chongsuk Ryou, researcher at the UK Sanders-Brown Center on Aging and professor of microbiology, immunology and molecular genetics in the UK College of Medicine, may shed light on possible treatments for prion diseases.

15 Mar 2011

First disease-specific biomarker for sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease identified

Neena Singh, MD, PhD and colleagues at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine have identified the first disease-specific biomarker for sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (sCJD), a universally fatal, degenerative brain disease for which there is no cure. sCJD is one of the causes of dementia and typically leads to death within a year of disease onset.

10 Mar 2011

Aminothiazoles as therapeutic leads for prion diseases

Scientists who examined more than 10,000 chemical compounds during the last year in search of potential new drugs for a group of untreatable brain diseases, are reporting that one substance shows unusual promise.

24 Feb 2011

Researchers identify normal movement mechanisms of PrPC in brain

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have identified the motors that move non-infectious prion proteins (PrPC) - found within many mammalian cells - up and down long, neuronal transport pathways.

18 Feb 2011

Blood test for screening mad cow disease to come soon: Study

UK scientists have developed a new blood test that can diagnose cases of variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (vCJD), a rare, fatal brain disease caused by proteins known as prions. These prions are also responsible for the mad cow disease, or bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE). This test could in near future be used to identify contaminated blood and prevent transmission of the disease during blood transfusions, the researchers said.

6 Feb 2011

Damaged alpha-synuclein proteins can spread in a 'prion-like' manner: Study

The study, published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, reveals that damaged alpha-synuclein proteins can spread in a 'prion-like' manner, an infection model previously described for diseases such as BSE.

20 Jan 2011

Study demonstrates role of alpha-synuclein cell-to-cell transfer in Parkinson's disease pathogenesis

The misfolding of abnormal proteins in brain cells is a key element in Parkinson's disease development. A recent study suggests that the sick proteins slowly move between cells, eventually triggering the destruction of the new host cell. The discovery could potentially lead to new therapeutic strategies for neurodegenerative diseases aimed at blocking the spread of protein misfolding throughout the brain.

19 Jan 2011

Airborne prions can induce mad cow disease: Research

Airborne prions are also infectious and can induce mad cow disease or Creutzfeldt-Jakob disorder. This is the surprising conclusion of researchers at the University of Zurich, the University Hospital Zurich and the University of Tübingen. They recommend precautionary measures for scientific labs, slaughterhouses and animal feed plants.

14 Jan 2011

Plasminogen may serve as new target to treat prion diseases

Scientists at the University of Kentucky have discovered that plasminogen, a protein used by the body to break up blood clots, speeds up the progress of prion diseases such as mad cow disease.

11 Jan 2011

Prions responsible for BSE can survive in new host environment

Scientists from the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute have shown that prions, bits of infectious protein that can cause fatal neurodegenerative disease such as bovine spongiform encephalopathy or "mad cow disease," have the ability to adapt to survive in a new host environment.

17 Dec 2010

NIAID researchers develop new method to detect prion diseases

A fast test to diagnose fatal brain conditions such as mad cow disease in cattle and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in humans could be on the horizon, according to a new study from National Institutes of Health scientists. Researchers at NIH's National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) have developed a highly sensitive and rapid new method to detect and measure infectious agents called prions that cause these diseases.

3 Dec 2010

Scientists find new protein to break-up blood clots in prion diseases

The joy of a juicy hamburger could make a comeback thanks a new discovery by scientists from the University of Kentucky. In a new research report in the December 2010 print issue of The FASEB Journal, scientists found that a protein our body uses to break up blood clots speeds up the progress of prion diseases. This substance, called plasminogen, is a new drug target for prion diseases in both humans and animals.

2 Dec 2010

Amorfix introduces high affinity antibodies against cancer primary cells

Amorfix Life Sciences, a product development company focused on diagnostics and therapeutics for misfolded protein diseases, today announced that together with its partner Epitomics, high affinity antibodies to prion protein disease specific epitopes (DSEs) have been produced, which bind preferentially to several cancer primary cells and tumor cell lines, but not normal cells.

24 Nov 2010

New findings provide new clues on pathogenetic mechanisms of Alzheimer's disease

Pathological protein deposits linked to Alzheimer's disease and cerebral amyloid angiopathy can be triggered not only by the administration of pathogenic misfolded protein fragments directly into the brain but also by peripheral administration outside the brain.

22 Oct 2010