Prion Disease in Humans

Paper Summary:

Ever since Mad Cow Disease sparked terror in international headlines, the public has been concerned about eating beef. Mad Cow Disease is not, however, the first or only prion-caused disease. Several others, including Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD) and kuru in humans and a host of agricultural animal disorders join Mad Cow in both cause and effects, the major effect being horror. This paper argues that, while the presence on the planet of a disease that literally lays waste to human brain tissue is frightening, there are two probabilities that can be seen as reasons not to be terrified. Instead, people could be hopeful that research sparked by the publicity surrounding Mad Cow Disease will eventually bring answers to such sociologically and medically devastating diseases as Alzheimer's Disease, and other lesser known but just as deadly diseases such as Lou Gehrig's Disease. The paper shows that these two probabilities are first, that prion-caused diseases are much less prevalent than media hype would indicate and, second, that a cure or vaccination is relatively certain to be discovered in the near to medium term.

Paper Outline:
Introduction
Methods
Discussion
Conclusion
References

From the Paper:

"Questions have arisen regarding why these particles are not attacked by the body's defense mechanisms, and the answer, Mahy noted, is that they are so odd, they are simply not recognized and therefore cannot be neutralized. Prions contain no nucleic acid and are therefore extremely " extremely resistant to inactivation by chemical or physical interventions that would inactivate viruses" (Mahy 1998) because there is no vector through which to deliver the 'poison'. Even more so than viruses, then, it is reasonable to wonder whether prions are, in fact, alive. And if they are not alive, then how can they infect an organism? Do they replicate like bacteria and viruses, or what?"

More papers on Prion Disease in Humans:

• Book Review # 49297 : "Kuru Sorcery in New Guinea"
• Essay # 67701 : "Mad Cow Disease"
• Essay # 55098 : "Prions: Proteinaceous Infectious Particles"

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