Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), commonly known as mad-cow disease (MCD), is a fatal, neurodegenerative disease in cattle, that causes a spongy degeneration in the brain and spinal cord. BSE has a long incubation period, about 4 years, usually affecting adult cattle at a peak age onset of four to five years, all breeds being equally susceptible.
It is believed by most scientists that the disease may be transmitted to human beings who eat the brain or spinal cord of infected carcasses.[3] In humans, it is known as new variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD or nvCJD)
The infectious agent in BSE is believed to be a specific type of misfolded protein called a prion. Those prion proteins carry the disease between individuals and cause deterioration of the brain. BSE is a type of transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE).[10] TSEs can arise in animals that carry an allele which causes previously normal protein molecules to contort by themselves from an alpha helical arrangement to a beta pleated sheet, which is the disease-causing shape for the particular protein. Transmission can occur when healthy animals come in contact with tainted tissues from others with the disease. In the brain these proteins cause native cellular prion protein to deform into the infectious state, which then goes on to deform further prion protein in an exponential cascade. This results in protein aggregates, which then form dense plaque fibers, leading to the microscopic appearance of "holes" in the brain, degeneration of physical and mental abilities, and ultimately death.
"Bovine spongiform encephalopathy." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 16 Jul 2009, 20:16 UTC. 16 Jul 2009 <http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bovine_spongiform_encephalopathy&oldid=302477785>.
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