30 May 2010

Human Prion Diseases

Prion diseases are caused by malformed proteins that can also malform the normal versions of themselves. When they do this in the central nervous system, they cause brain damage and death. In humans, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease is probably the most well-known for its relation to the version found in cows, bovine spongiform encephalopathy, also known as "mad cow disease."

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