How the Cows Turned Mad

How the Cows Turned Mad
Author: Maxime Schwartz
Publisher: Univ of California Press
Total Pages: 264
Release: 2004-09-13
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 0520243374

"How the Cows Turned Mad tells the story of a disease that continues to elude on many levels. Yet science has come far in understanding its origins, incubation, and transmission. This book is a case history that illuminates the remarkable progression of science."--BOOK JACKET.

Statistical Aspects of BSE and vCJD

Statistical Aspects of BSE and vCJD
Author: C A Donnelly
Publisher: CRC Press
Total Pages: 246
Release: 1999-07-21
Genre: Mathematics
ISBN: 9780849303869

Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) or "mad cow disease," first diagnosed in late 1986, is transmitted through feed, indirect horizontal transmission, apparently maternally and possibly horizontally, through cattle-to-cattle contact or a contaminated environment. With no ante-mortem test yet developed, the only information available about BSE is from case surveillance and a limited number of experiments. Only through careful and rigorous modeling and analysis can reliable estimates of past infection and predictions of future cases be made. The modeling developed for BSE utilizes a range of techniques from statistics, ecology, and demography that is of interest both as a case study and for providing tools for other modeling projects. Statistical Aspects of BSE and vCJD: Models for Epidemics presents the general methodology required for thorough analysis and modeling of novel long incubation diseases with largely unknown etiology. BSE in British cattle is the primary example system presented, but application to other diseases, particularly the transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (e.g., Scrapie in sheep and nvCJD in humans) are also highlighted. The book concentrates on presenting an exposition of the "state-of-the-art" rather than introductory material on the mathematical/statistical modeling of infectious diseases.

Human Prion Diseases

Human Prion Diseases
Author:
Publisher: Elsevier
Total Pages: 520
Release: 2018-06-07
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 0444639535

Human Prion Diseases, Volume 153 is designed to update the reader on the latest advances and clinical aspects of prion diseases. The book is organized into five sections, including the pathophysiology of prions and a description of animal and human diseases. This is followed by detailed reports on recent advances in diagnosis strategies for the development of novel anti-prion molecules and possible designs of clinical trials in such a rare disease. An introductory chapter gives an extensive historical background of prion research, with a final chapter highlighting recent progress, and more importantly, unsolved problems. - Offers an authoritative overview of prion diseases in humans, detailing the pathogenesis of the disease, clinical investigations, and the diagnosis of both the genetic and acquired forms - Provides clarity and context by presenting prion diseases in relation to other neurodegenerative diseases in humans - Emphasizes the unique properties of prion diseases and consequent problems they can cause, both clinically and in public health terms

Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease

Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease
Author: Mic J. Stones
Publisher: Nova Publishers
Total Pages: 176
Release: 2006
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 9781600213458

Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease is a very rare and incurable degenerative neurological disorder that is ultimately fatal. It is the most common of the transmissible spongiform encephalopathies. Transmissible spongiform encephalopathy diseases (also known as prion diseases) are caused by a unique type of infectious agent called prions, an abnormally structured form of a protein found in the brain. Other prion diseases include Gerstmann-Sträussler-Scheinker syndrome (GSS), fatal familial insomnia (FFI) and kuru in humans, as well as bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) and scrapie in animals. This book presents the latest research in this field.

Neurobiology of Brain Disorders

Neurobiology of Brain Disorders
Author: Michael J. Zigmond
Publisher: Elsevier
Total Pages: 823
Release: 2014-12-03
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0123982804

Neurobiology of Brain Disorders is the first book directed primarily at basic scientists to offer a comprehensive overview of neurological and neuropsychiatric disease. This book links basic, translational, and clinical research, covering the genetic, developmental, molecular, and cellular mechanisms underlying all major categories of brain disorders. It offers students, postdoctoral fellows, and researchers in the diverse fields of neuroscience, neurobiology, neurology, and psychiatry the tools they need to obtain a basic background in the major neurological and psychiatric diseases, and to discern connections between basic research and these relevant clinical conditions. This book addresses developmental, autoimmune, central, and peripheral neurodegeneration; infectious diseases; and diseases of higher function. The final chapters deal with broader issues, including some of the ethical concerns raised by neuroscience and a discussion of health disparities. Included in each chapter is coverage of the clinical condition, diagnosis, treatment, underlying mechanisms, relevant basic and translational research, and key unanswered questions. Written and edited by a diverse team of international experts, Neurobiology of Brain Disorders is essential reading for anyone wishing to explore the basic science underlying neurological and neuropsychiatric diseases. - Links basic, translational, and clinical research on disorders of the nervous system, creating a format for study that will accelerate disease prevention and treatment - Covers a vast array of neurological disorders, including ADHD, Down syndrome, autism, muscular dystrophy, diabetes, TBI, Parkinson, Huntington, Alzheimer, OCD, PTSD, schizophrenia, depression, and pain - Illustrated in full color - Each chapter provides in-text summary points, special feature boxes, and research questions - Provides an up-to-date synthesis of primary source material

Deadly Feasts

Deadly Feasts
Author: Richard Rhodes
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 305
Release: 2012-12-11
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 1471104575

In this brilliant and gripping medical detective story. Richard Rhodes follows virus hunters on three continents as they track the emergence of a deadly new brain disease that first kills cannibals in New Guinea, then cattle and young people in Britain and France -- and that has already been traced to food animals in the United States. In a new Afterword for the paperback, Rhodes reports the latest U.S. and worldwide developments of a burgeoning global threat.

Neurodegeneration

Neurodegeneration
Author: Anthony Schapira
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Total Pages: 344
Release: 2017-04-24
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 0470672684

This book unites the diverse range of complex neurodegenerative diseases into a textbook designed for clinical practice, edited by globally leading authorities on the subject. Presents a clinically oriented guide to the diseases caused by neurodegeneration Templated chapters combine clinical and research information on neurodegenerative diseases beginning with the common elements before treating each disease individually Diseases are grouped by anatomical regions of degeneration and include common disorders such as Parkinson’s Disease, Alzheimer’s Disease, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis/Motor Neuron Disease, and Multiple Sclerosis as well as less common diseases Edited by globally leading authorities on the subject, and written by expert contributing authors

The Prion Protein

The Prion Protein
Author: Jorg Tatzelt
Publisher:
Total Pages: 80
Release: 2010
Genre: Prions
ISBN: 9780954333522

A conformational transition of the cellular prion protein (PrPC) into an aberrantly folded isoform designated scrapie prion protein (PrPSc) is the hallmark of a variety of neurodegenerative disorders collectively called prion diseases. They include Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease and Gerstmann-Stäussler-Scheinker syndrome in humans, scrapie in sheep, bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in cattle and chronic wasting disease (CWD) in free-ranging deer. In contrast to the deadly properties of misfolded PrP, PrPC seems to possess a neuroprotective activity. More-over, animal models indicated that the stress-protective activity of PrPC and the neurotoxic effects of PrPSc are somehow interconnected. In this timely book, leading scientists in the field have come together to highlight the apparently incongruous activities of different PrP conformers. The articles outline current research on celluar pathways implicated in the formation and signaling of neurotoxic and physiological PrP isoforms and delineate future research direction. Topics covered include the physiologcial activity of PrPC and its possible role as a neurotrophic factor, the finding that aberrant PrP conformers can cause neurodegeneration in the absence of infectious prion propagation, the requirement of the GPI anchor of PrPC for the neurotoxic effects of scrapie prions, the pathways implicated in the formation and neurotoxic properties of cytosolically localized PrP, the impact of metal ions on the processing of PrP, and the role of autophagy in the propagation and clearance of PrPSc. The book is fully illustrated and chapters include comprehensive reference sections. Essential reading for scientists involved in prion research.

Advancing Prion Science

Advancing Prion Science
Author: Institute of Medicine
Publisher: National Academies Press
Total Pages: 125
Release: 2003-04-20
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 0309087449

In Advancing Prion Science, the Institute of Medicine's Committee on Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies Assessment of Relevant Science recommends priorities for research and investment to the Department of Defense's National Prion Research Program (NPRP). Transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs), also called prion diseases, are invariably fatal neurodegenerative infectious diseases that include bovine spongiform encephalopathy (commonly called mad cow disease), chronic wasting disease, scrapie, and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. To develop antemortem diagnostics or therapies for TSEs, the committee concludes that NPRP should invest in basic research specifically to elucidate the structural features of prions, the molecular mechanisms of prion replication, the mechanisms of TSE pathogenesis, and the physiological function of prions' normal cellular isoform. Advancing Prion Science provides the first comprehensive reference on present knowledge about all aspects of TSEs' from basic science to the U.S. research infrastructure, from diagnostics to surveillance, and from prevention to treatment. This report summarizes the progress thus far.