Prion disease breakthrough provides brain injury insightRSS Feed

Scientists have made a breakthrough that could help to prevent brain injury caused by prion diseases in the future.

An investigation by researchers at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) into mice has revealed a new mechanism for prion disease brain damage.

Prion diseases, which are known as transmissible spongiform encephalopathies, can include mad cow disease and sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.

Lead study author Dr Bruce Chesebro, chief of the Laboratory of Persistent Viral Diseases, said findings suggest that the absence of prion protein in nerve cells appears to determine what kind of disease develops.

The research is the first of its kind to demonstrate that plaque-associated damage to the blood vessels can occur without sponge-like damage to the brain, according to Dr Chesebro.

His findings follow research published in the journal Neuron in 2007, which indicated that prion disease in humans is treatable if it is caught early enough.

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