Tuesday, June 30, 2015

visual variant of Alzheimer’s disease VVAD vs Heidenhain Variant Creutzfeldt Jakob Disease hvCJD

Subject: visual variant of Alzheimer’s disease VVAD vs Heidenhain Variant Creutzfeldt Jakob Disease hvCJD

 

Research article

 

Visual signs and symptoms in patients with the visual variant of Alzheimer disease

 

Pierre-François Kaeser1, Joseph Ghika2 and François-Xavier Borruat1*

 

* Corresponding author: François-Xavier Borruat francois.borruat@fa2.ch

 

Author Affiliations

 

1 Department of Ophthalmology, University of Lausanne, Jules Gonin Eye Hospital, Avenue de France 15, Lausanne, CH-1004, Switzerland

 

2 Department of Neurology, University of Lausanne, CHUV, Lausanne, Switzerland

 

For all author emails, please log on.

 

BMC Ophthalmology 2015, 15:65 doi:10.1186/s12886-015-0060-9

 

The electronic version of this article is the complete one and can be found online at: http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2415/15/65

 

Received: 11 July 2014 Accepted: 19 June 2015 Published: 30 June 2015

 

© 2015 Kaeser et al.

 

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly credited. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated.

 

Abstract Background

 

Prominent visual symptoms can present in the visual variant of Alzheimer’s disease (VVAD). Ophthalmologists have a significant role to play in the early diagnosis of VVAD.

 

Methods

 

We retrospectively reviewed the files of ten consecutive patients diagnosed with VVAD. All patients had a full neuro-ophthalmologic examination, a formal neurological and neuro-psychological testing, and cerebral MRI to confirm diagnosis. In addition, functional neuroimaging was obtained in seven patients.

 

Results

 

The common primary symptom at presentation with all patients was difficulty with near vision (reading difficulty n = 8, “visual blur” in near vision n = 2), and difficulty writing (n = 3). Following assessment, impaired reading and writing skills were evident in 9/10 and 8/10 patients respectively. Median distance visual acuity was 20/25 and at near the median visual acuity was J6. Partial homonymous visual field defect was detected in 80 % (8/10) of the patients. Color vision was impaired in all patients when tested with Ishihara pseudoisochromatic plates, but simple color naming was normal in 8/9 tested patients. Simultanagnosia was present in 8/10 patients. Vision dysfunction corresponded with cerebral MRI findings where parieto-occipital cortical atrophy was observed in all patients. PET scan (5 patients) or SPECT (2 patients) revealed parieto-occipital dysfunction (hypometabolism or hypoperfusion) in all 7 tested patients

 

Conclusions

 

Visual difficulties are prominent in VVAD. Dyslexia, incomplete homonymous hemianopia, preserved color identification with abnormal color vision on Ishihara, and simultanagnosia were all symptoms observed frequently in this patient series. Ophthalmologists should be aware of the possibility of neurodegenerative disorders such as VVAD in patients with unexplained visual complaints, in particular reading difficulties.

 

Keywords: Alzheimer; Reading difficulty; Homonymous hemianopsia; Simultanagnosia

 


 

Journal of Neuro-Ophthalmology: March 2014 - Volume 34 - Issue 1 - p 4–9 doi: 10.1097/WNO.0b013e3182916155

 

Original Contribution

 

The Heidenhain Variant of Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease—A Case Series

 

Parker, Sarah E. MD; Gujrati, Meena MD; Pula, John H. MD; Zallek, Sarah N. MD; Kattah, Jorge C. MD

 

Supplemental Author Material Collapse Box Abstract Background: To study the neuro-ophthalmologic characteristics of patients with the visual variant of Creuztfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) predominantly affecting the occipital and parietal lobes, known as the Heidenhain variant (HvCJD). The initial symptoms and findings may overlap with other posterior cerebral degenerative disorders. We reviewed our experience with HvCJD including clinical course and results of neuroimaging, electroencephalography (EEG), and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) studies. Neuropathological postmortem findings were reviewed when available to confirm the clinical impression.

 

Methods: Retrospective study of HvCJD patients examined in the past 15 years at a single tertiary referral university hospital. Rapid rate of visual and neurological deterioration and abnormal diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) were characteristic for HvCJD.

 

Results: Three patients displayed abnormalities in DWI, EEG, and CSF and had rapid clinical progression, leading to a clinical diagnosis of HvCJD. None underwent diagnostic cerebral biopsy. In 2 patients, the diagnosis of sporadic CJD was confirmed by postmortem neuropathologic, immunohistochemical, and genetic studies.

 

Conclusions: The gold standard for establishing the diagnosis of HvCJD is based on the characteristic histopathologic findings and molecular confirmation. Concern with potential iatrogenic CJD, related to surgical instrumentation or operating room prion contamination, has limited the availability of confirmatory brain biopsy. Our case series illustrates how the combination of clinical neuroimaging and EEG studies and 14:3:3 protein and other neuronal protein marker levels can lead to the diagnosis of HvCJD. Immunohistochemical analysis and genetic testing at a specialized prion research center will assist in identifying the sporadic variant and genetic forms of CJD.

 

© 2014 by North American Neuro-Ophthalmology Society

 

SNIP...

 

DISCUSSION

 

In 1998, Benson et al (11) described PCD as an unusual neurodegenerative disorder involving the posterior parietal and occipital lobes. Neuropathologic findings in PCD include senile plaques and neurofibrillary tangles, typical for Alzheimer disease in the majority of cases (7–9). Less frequently, subcortical gliosis as a variant of Pick disease and spongiform changes, neuronal loss and gliosis due to prion infection were reported (9). However, epidemiologic data are lacking. Clinical findings in PCD and HvCJD include combinations of visual field defects, cortical blindness, dyschromatopsia, visual agnosia, alexia, prosopagnosia, palinopsia, optical anosognosia, Balint and Gertsmann syndrome (12–16). Between 1998 and 2012, we evaluated 10 patients with PCD; 3 had sporadic HvCJD who were followed until their death. We are uncertain about the etiology in the remaining 7 patients who developed either a slowly progressive dementia (evolving over several years) and are still alive or were lost to follow-up. The largest published series of the HvCJD included 34 pathologically confirmed cases over a 51-month period (6). This study from the University of Göttingen in Germany is the geographic base of the “German National Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease Surveillance Study.” Clinical findings were available in 25 cases and consisted of a combination of visual loss and higher visual deficits as found in previous studies. The rate of neurological deterioration was faster in the HvCJD group compared with other CJD variants and did not correlate with location or extent of neuropathologic findings. Homozygosis for methionine in codon 129, identified in 2 of our patients, was noted as a possible genetic indicator of an aggressive clinical course. We evaluated our patients by applying the diagnostic criteria used by Kropp et al (6) and endorsed by the World Health Organization (Table 1). Neuroimaging findings showed subtle increased intensity in the parieto-occipital region on T2 and FLAIR images only in case 2. Yet all 3 patients had striking visual deficits on examination. Therefore, HvCJD should be considered in any patient with visual field loss and a normal MRI or when imaging abnormalities fail to explain the clinical findings (15). Our imaging protocol included diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) sequences (12,16). Restricted diffusion involving the gyri of the parieto-occipital cortex was observed in 2 of our cases (Fig. 3). The third patient (Case 2) was evaluated before the incorporation of DWI sequences in the MRI protocol at our institution. DWI was the most helpful ancillary test supporting the diagnosis of HvCJD, and to our knowledge, other PCD variants usually are not associated with DWI changes. Graphic Table 1

 

Initial EEG results showed nonspecific focal or generalized slowing, but follow-up EEG showed periodic sharp waves (Fig. 2) characteristic of CJD in later stages, correlating with the presence of myoclonus. SPECT scanning confirmed occipital hypoperfusion in one of our cases and should be part of PCD evaluation. SPECT largely has been replaced by PET that demonstrates focal cerebral hypometabolism in PCD (13,17). An important characteristic observation suggesting HvCJD in our patients was rapid clinical deterioration. The initial HvCJD diagnosis in Case 1 was supported by progressive neurological deterioration over 10 weeks after the onset of visual symptoms. Our other 2 patients were evaluated at an earlier stage of disease and were scheduled for additional testing over several days. Both patients failed to keep their 2-week follow-up appointments, and contact with their families revealed that they experienced rapid neurological deterioration with inability to perform activities of daily living. This prompted us to perform house calls to complete neurological evaluation and discussion with the family. Markers of massive neuronal loss (14:3:3 protein and neuronal-specific enolase) were elevated in 2 of our cases. These markers are deemed highly specific and sensitive (1). Their value must be interpreted with caution in individual cases, as increased neuronal protein levels (false positives) may be found in other rapidly progressive dementias and potential PCD mimics including autoimmune and paraneoplastic encephalitis, nonconvulsive status epilepticus, intravascular lymphoma, and vasculitis (2,5). Although characteristic histopathology of CJD remains the gold standard in establishing the diagnosis, the risk of instrument or surgical suite prion contamination during brain biopsy has limited the availability of brain biopsy (10). Until a specific serum or CSF prion marker is available, the premortem diagnosis of HvCJD in a patient with PCD continues to rely on close clinical monitoring, neuroimaging testing, serial EEG, and elevated CSF markers (18,19). We strongly recommend that specimens be sent to the National Prion Research Center at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, OH, and similar prion research centers for confirmatory, cerebral histopathology, immunohistochemical staining of abnormal protease-resistant prion protein, and genetic testing. This testing protocol establishes the diagnosis of sporadic, variant, and genetic forms of CJD and hopefully will prevent delay in establishing the correct diagnosis (20). In vitro, anti-prion agents have been found effective in controlling prion growth and progression. Unfortunately, these agents have failed to cure or slow CJD infection in humans (21–23).

 


 

P07 Behavioral Neurology: Aging and Dementia MRI More Useful Than PET for Diagnosis of Heidenhain Variant Creutzfeldt-Jacob Disease (P07.163)

 

Jonathan Beary1 and Edward Manno2 1 General Neurology, Neurological Institute Cleveland Clinic Cleveland OH 2 Cerebrovascular Neurology, Neurological Institute Cleveland Clinic Cleveland OH

 

OBJECTIVE: To demonstrate that MRI detection of subtle focal cortical abnormalities can prove more useful than positron emission tomography (PET) in the diagnosis of Heidenhain variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (hvCJD).

 

BACKGROUND: hvCJD is a rare neurodegenerative, spongiform encephalopathy with an aggressive clinical course. PET brain imaging has been reported to detect focal cortical abnormalities in hvCJD with greater sensitivity than MRI. However, because PET is both more costly and less accessable than MRI, early diagnosis of this disease and subsequent prognostication may be unnecessarily delayed. The reliability of MRI over PET in detecting isolated occipital cortical changes suggestive of hvCJD has not been well studied.

 

DESIGN/METHODS: This is a case report with relevent neuroimaging review.

 

RESULTS: A 70 year-old right-handed male experienced visual hallucinations and visuospatial disorientation with worsening ataxia followed by progressive anterograde amnesia and cortical blindness. Six weeks later he was comatose with startle myoclonus. A sharply-contoured periodic pattern was evident posteriorly on continuous EEG monitoring with brain MRI revealing subtle bilateral occipital cortical diffusion restriction. PET brain imaging showed diffuse non-focal cortical hypometabolism. Both cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) 14-3-3 and tau protein studies were positive. EEG progressed to refractory status epilepticus and the patient died four days later. ***The presence of abnormal brain protease-resistant prion protein and MM1 genotype at autopsy supported the diagnosis of hvCJD.

 

CONCLUSIONS: hvCJD should be considered in patients with rapid-onset idiopathic visual disturbance and dementia. When combined with EEG and CSF analysis, isolated MRI visual cortex diffusion restriction is suggestive of this ultra-aggressive prion variant. MRI is able to efficiently facilitate valuable prognostication early in hvCJD and can be more useful than costly PET imaging.

 

Disclosure: Dr. Beary has nothing to disclose. Dr. Manno has nothing to disclose.

 


 

Resident and Fellow Section

 

Mystery Case:

 

Heidenhain variant of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease

 

Matthew Kalp, MD, PhD and Christopher H. Gottschalk, MD

 

A 75-year-old woman complained of a “scrambled brain” for 1 month. She endorsed poor depth perception and an inability to construct “mental maps” of her home and the grocery store. Examination revealed impaired delayed recall, ocular apraxia, optic ataxia, and simultanagnosia (Bálint syndrome). Diffusion-weighted MRI demonstrated cortical hyperintensities in the occipital lobes extending into the right parietal lobe, suggesting spongiform encephalopathy (figure). The 14-3-3 protein and elevated neuron-specific enolase were detected in the CSF. The patient was diagnosed with the Heidenhain variant of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.1 Early in the disease, this subgroup of patients with prion disease have isolated visual, not cognitive, symptoms and may be referred to an ophthalmologist.2

 

© 2014 American Academy of Neurology

 


 

Heidenhain Variant Creutzfeldt Jakob Disease autopsy case report 'MOM'

 

DIVISION OF NEUROPATHOLOGY University of Texas Medical Branch 114 McCullough Bldg. Galveston, Texas 77555-0785

 

FAX COVER SHEET

 

DATE: 4-23-98

 

TO: Mr. Terry Singeltary @ -------

 

FROM: Gerald Campbell

 

FAX: (409) 772-5315 PHONE: (409) 772-2881

 

Number of Pages (including cover sheet):

 

Message:

 

*CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE*

 



Saturday, June 27, 2015

 

A Naturally Occurring Bovine Tauopathy Is Geographically Widespread in the UK

 

Research Article

 


 

Singeltary Comment;

 

IBNC Tauopathy or TSE Prion disease, it appears, no one is sure

 

Posted by flounder on 27 Jun 2015 at 16:29 GMT

 


 


 

Thursday, January 2, 2014

 

CWD TSE Prion in cervids to hTGmice, Heidenhain Variant Creutzfeldt-Jacob Disease MM1 genotype, and iatrogenic CJD ???

 

 
 
 
kind regards, terry

Wednesday, January 28, 2015

Another new prion disease: relationship with central and peripheral amyloidoses

Saturday, December 6, 2014

Detection of protein aggregates in brain and cerebrospinal fluid derived from multiple sclerosis patients

Detection of protein aggregates in brain and cerebrospinal fluid derived from multiple sclerosis patients
 
Hypothesis & Theory ARTICLE Front. Neurol., 02 December 2014 | doi: 10.3389/fneur.2014.00251
 
Detection of protein aggregates in brain and cerebrospinal fluid derived from multiple sclerosis patients
 
imageMonique Antoinette David1,2 and imageMourad Tayebi1,3* 1Mitchell Center for Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Brain Disorders, Department of Neurology, University of Texas Houston Medical School, Houston, TX, USA 2Antibody Discovery Laboratory, PrioCam, Houston, TX, USA 3Department of Pathology and Infectious Diseases, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Surrey, Guildford, UK
 
Studies of the properties of soluble oligomer species of amyloidogenic proteins, derived from different proteins with little sequence homology, have indicated that they share a common structure and may share similar pathogenic mechanisms. Amyloid β, tau protein, as well as amyloid precursor protein normally associated with Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease were found in lesions and plaques of multiple sclerosis patients. The objective of the study is to investigate whether brain and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples derived from multiple sclerosis patients demonstrate the presence of soluble oligomers normally associated with protein-misfolding diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease. We have used anti-oligomer monoclonal antibodies to immunodetect soluble oligomers in CSF and brain tissues derived from multiple sclerosis patients. In this report, we describe the presence of soluble oligomers in the brain tissue and cerebral spinal fluid of multiple sclerosis patients detected with our monoclonal anti-oligomer antibodies with Western blot and Sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (sELISA). These results might suggest that protein aggregation plays a role in multiple sclerosis pathogenesis although further and more refined studies are needed to confirm the role of soluble aggregates in multiple sclerosis.
 
Finally, co-morbidities are a recognized feature following autopsy of patients with PMDs; for instance, both Parkinson’s and AD have been recognized in same patients. We therefore wanted to assess whether brain homogenates derived from MS patients displayed PK-resistant prions (Figure 4B) and we also checked for the presence of Aβ and α-synuclein (data not shown). Brain homogenates from patients with MS (Secondary progressive) did not display any presence of PK-resistant prions as assessed by anti-prion antibody and also failed to demonstrate binding for Aβ and α-synuclein.
 
Our study shows for the time that protein aggregates detected by anti-oligomer specific antibodies are associated with MS. The data generated so far does not allow to reach a substantive conclusion in relation to the involvement of these proteins aggregates in MS pathogenesis. Protein aggregation associated with MS has been described previously in a rodent model of MS (16). Dasgupta and colleagues have demonstrated increased protein aggregation in the spinal cord of mice with experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE). In their study, they argue that accumulation of misfolded proteins is caused by increased rate of protein oxidation and reduced proteasome degradation, both seen in MS (17) and EAE (18, 19).
 
In conclusion, for the first time, we demonstrate the presence of soluble oligomers, normally associated with PMDs, in MS tissues and CSF. Although the pathogenic relevance of these MS associated soluble oligomers to disease process remains to be investigated, this study sets the ground for further investigating this relationship. This study proposes a novel alternative in understanding the pathogenesis of MS.
 
 
 
 
Physiol Rev. 2009 Oct;89(4):1105-52. doi: 10.1152/physrev.00006.2009.
 
Prions: protein aggregation and infectious diseases.
 
Aguzzi A1, Calella AM. Author information 1Institute of Neuropathology, University Hospital of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland. adriano.aguzzi@usz.ch
 
Abstract
 
Transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs) are inevitably lethal neurodegenerative diseases that affect humans and a large variety of animals. The infectious agent responsible for TSEs is the prion, an abnormally folded and aggregated protein that propagates itself by imposing its conformation onto the cellular prion protein (PrPC) of the host. PrPC is necessary for prion replication and for prion-induced neurodegeneration, yet the proximal causes of neuronal injury and death are still poorly understood. Prion toxicity may arise from the interference with the normal function of PrPC, and therefore, understanding the physiological role of PrPC may help to clarify the mechanism underlying prion diseases. Here we discuss the evolution of the prion concept and how prion-like mechanisms may apply to other protein aggregation diseases. We describe the clinical and the pathological features of the prion diseases in human and animals, the events occurring during neuroinvasion, and the possible scenarios underlying brain damage. Finally, we discuss potential antiprion therapies and current developments in the realm of prion diagnostics.
 
snip...
 
Another major unresolved issue is the extent to which the induced amyloidotic lesions can spread from localized sites of seeding by the inoculum to other sites within the host. Surprisingly, a recent study reported that healthy fetal tissue grafted into the brains of Parkinson’s disease patients acquired cytoplasmic -synuclein-rich Lewy bodies, suggesting that misfolded -synuclein spreads to healthy cells and acts as a template for the conversion of native -helices to pathogenic -sheets (299).
 
Type 2 diabetes is yet another disease whose pathogenesis may involve ordered protein aggregation. Evidence for this was discovered early on (373) but was largely forgotten for almost a century. It is now evident that aggregation of islet amyloid polypeptide (IAPP) is an exceedingly frequent feature of type 2 diabetes. IAPP amyloid damages the insulin-producing -cells within pancreatic islets and may crucially contribute to the pathogenesis of diabetes (233). It is unknown, however, whether IAPP deposition simply accrues linearly with IAPP production, or whether it spreads in a prion-like fashion from one pancreatic islet to the next.
 
In summary, the role of protein misfolding and aggregation in various human diseases has been clearly established in the past decade, yet an important challenge for the coming years will be to determine whether the prion mechanism of disease transmission might be operating in other human diseases, some of which are highly prevalent.
 
snip...
 
 
Immune responses in rapidly progressive dementia: a comparative study of neuroinflammatory markers in Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, Alzheimer’s disease and multiple sclerosis
 
Katharina Stoeck†, Matthias Schmitz*†, Elisabeth Ebert, Christian Schmidt and Inga Zerr
 
Abstract
 
Immunological responses may contribute to disease progression and clinical heterogeneity in neurodegenerative dementia, for example, Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD). Recently, a rapidly progressive form of AD (rpAD) has been described. On neuropathological grounds classical AD and rpAD are not distinguishable at present. All those protein aggregopathies show a state of chronic inflammation with microglia activation and production of proinflammatory cytokines. In this context, it is hypothesized that the severity of the surrounding inflammation substantially contributes to disease progression and accelerated disease courses as seen in rpAD. Using a cytokine multiplex array based on Luminex Technology, we studied 17 pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and serum from patients with classical dementia (AD) or rapidly progressive dementia (Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD), rpAD). For controls, we chose patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) and non-neurodegenerative diseases. We found a significant and isolated elevation of proinflammatory cytokines (IL-13, TNF-α and G-CSF) in the serum of rpAD patients. In CSF, IL-8 and MCP-1 chemokines were significantly elevated in CJD patients and MCP-1 in AD patients. In conclusion, we found a characteristic proinflammatory cytokine response in the serum of rpAD patients. It might explain the more rapidly progressive course of the rpAD subform and can be helpful in distinguishing between classical AD and rpAD.
 
Abbreviations Aβ: amyloid beta; AD: Alzheimer’s disease; CJD: Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease; CSF: cerebrospinal fluid; MS: multiple sclerosis; PrP: prion protein; rpAD: a rapidly progressive form of Alzheimer’s disease.
 
 
Wednesday, November 13, 2013
 
Spontaneous Generation of Infectious Prion Disease in Transgenic Mice
 
***These considerations enable us to hypothesize that the BSE epidemic could have begun by a random genetic mutation that was able to generate de novo infectious prions, which were included in meat and bone meal fed to cattle and then broadly expanded in the cattle population. According to this hypothesis, a key strategy for controlling BSE would involve preventing cows from consuming products from cows with spontaneous cases of BSE.***
 
 
Tuesday, May 7, 2013
 
Proteinopathies, a core concept for understanding and ultimately treating degenerative disorders?
 
 
Sunday, February 10, 2013
 
Parkinson's Disease and Alpha Synuclein: Is Parkinson's Disease a Prion-Like Disorder?
 
 
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
 
Alzheimer’s disease and Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathy prion disease, Iatrogenic, what if ?
 
Proposal ID: 29403
 
 
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
 
PrioNet Canada researchers in Vancouver confirm prion-like properties in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS)
 
 
Friday, September 3, 2010
 
Alzheimer's, Autism, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, Parkinson's, Prionoids, Prionpathy, Prionopathy, TSE
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Self-Propagative Replication of Ab Oligomers Suggests Potential Transmissibility in Alzheimer Disease
 
Received July 24, 2014; Accepted September 16, 2014; Published November 3, 2014
 
 
Singeltary comment ;
 
 
Sunday, November 23, 2014
 
Confirmed Variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (variant CJD) Case in Texas in June 2014 confirmed as USA case NOT European
 
‘’The specific overseas country where this patient’s infection occurred is less clear largely because the investigation did not definitely link him to a country where other known vCJD cases likely had been infected.’’
 
 
Friday, December 5, 2014
 
SPECIAL ALERT The OIE recommends strengthening animal disease surveillance worldwide
 
OIE BSE TSE PRION AKA MAD COW DISEASE ?
 
‘’the silence was deafening’’ ...tss
 
 
TSS

Saturday, October 11, 2014

UC Berkeley, UCSF researchers team up to create center for neurodegenerative disease research

UC Berkeley, UCSF researchers team up to create center for neurodegenerative disease research

 

Published on October 10, 2014 at 1:17 AM

 

Investigators will explore role of decline in protein quality-control in dementias, other illnesses

 

Researchers at UC San Francisco and UC Berkeley have teamed up to create an innovative, integrated center for research on neurodegenerative diseases. Supported by a $3 million grant from the Glenn Foundation for Medical Research, the new center aims to pave the way to developing novel treatments for diseases such as Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease by investigating the many ways that proteins can malfunction within cells.

 

In particular, the center's work will focus on a type of protein called the prion, which displays characteristics of infectious agents and is responsible for "mad cow" disease and a related, devastating human brain disorder known as Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD).

 

Stanley B. Prusiner, MD, UCSF professor of neurology, and Andrew Dillin, PhD, the Thomas and Stacey Siebel Distinguished Chair of Stem Cell Research at UCB and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator, will codirect the new inter-campus program, known as the Paul F. Glenn Center for Aging Research. Ten additional researchers from UCSF and 13 from UCB will contribute to the center's work, with more recruitments to come.

 

"The Glenn Foundation is pleased to welcome UCSF and UC Berkeley to the Glenn Consortium for Research in Aging," said Mark R. Collins, president of the Glenn Foundation for Medical Research, which is based in Santa Barbara, Calif. "I had the pleasure to work with Dr. Dillin previously, when he led the Glenn Center for Aging Research at the Salk Institute for Biological Sciences prior to moving to UC Berkeley. I've known Dr. Prusiner and followed his work for many years and it is a propitious time for us to assist these two leaders in biological research to discover treatments for age-related neurodegenerative disease."

 

In 1997, Prusiner, director of UCSF's Institute for Neurodegenerative Diseases, received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his discovery of prions, which he demonstrated were an abnormally folded form of normal proteins that set up a template for replication in the brain. According to Prusiner, recent work provides persuasive evidence that, in addition to mad cow disease and CJD, many common neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer's and Parkinson's, are caused by abnormally folded forms of normal proteins functioning as prions.

 

Dillin agrees that prions are ideal targets for research and novel therapeutic approaches. "The Glenn Foundation's confidence to support our hypothesis is greatly appreciated," he said, adding that the combination of UCSF's medical mission with the strong basic research traditions of both campuses will make the new Glenn Center's work uniquely powerful.

 

Proteins are crucial for many of a cell's normal functions, but as people age, cells' quality-control mechanisms become less efficient. Normally these systems ensure that proteins are properly formed, and target badly formed or "worn-out" proteins for destruction. But as the effectiveness of cellular quality control wanes over time, improperly formed proteins, including prions, can begin to accumulate.

 

Badly formed proteins, called "misfolded" by biologists, cannot carry out their required functions and, even worse, they can stick to one another and to other cellular components, sometimes leading to devastating physiological consequences. Prions are particularly problematic because they can act like a template, converting properly formed proteins into additional prions, essentially spreading protein misfolding like an infection.

 

Seeking ways to counteract the accumulation of misfolded proteins, the new Glenn Center's researchers will investigate the many cellular quality-control mechanisms that act throughout a protein's lifetime, from when proteins are first made, to the interactions that help them reach their proper functional state, to the transport processes that take them to their final destinations, to their ultimate degradation when they can no longer serve their purpose.

 

Together, the UCSF and UCB researchers affiliated with the center have complementary expertise in all of these areas, and the center's ultimate goal is to develop new anti-prion drugs, Dillin said. "At Berkeley, we aim to build the basic scientific knowledge to leverage clinical and therapeutic discoveries at UCSF."

 

According to Prusiner, "the newest research indicates that Alzheimer's alone kills as many people every year as cancer does, but it only receives one-tenth of the funding that we dedicate to cancer research. We are grateful to The Glenn Foundation for their support in the battle against neurodegenerative diseases."

 

Source:

 

University of California - San Francisco

 


 

Wednesday, May 16, 2012

 

Alzheimer’s disease and Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathy prion disease, Iatrogenic, what if ?

 

Proposal ID: 29403

 


 

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

 

PrioNet Canada researchers in Vancouver confirm prion-like properties in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS)

 


 

 Wednesday, January 5, 2011

 

ENLARGING SPECTRUM OF PRION-LIKE DISEASES Prusiner Colby et al 2011 Prions

 

David W. Colby1,* and Stanley B. Prusiner1,2

 


 


 

Friday, September 3, 2010

 

Alzheimer's, Autism, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, Parkinson's, Prionoids, Prionpathy, Prionopathy, TSE

 


 

Ann N Y Acad Sci. 1982;396:131-43.

 

Alzheimer's disease and transmissible virus dementia (Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease).

 

Brown P, Salazar AM, Gibbs CJ Jr, Gajdusek DC.

 

Abstract

 

Ample justification exists on clinical, pathologic, and biologic grounds for considering a similar pathogenesis for AD and the spongiform virus encephalopathies. However, the crux of the comparison rests squarely on results of attempts to transmit AD to experimental animals, and these results have not as yet validated a common etiology. Investigations of the biologic similarities between AD and the spongiform virus encephalopathies proceed in several laboratories, and our own observation of inoculated animals will be continued in the hope that incubation periods for AD may be even longer than those of CJD.

 


 

CJD1/9 0185 Ref: 1M51A

 

IN STRICT CONFIDENCE

 

Dr McGovern From: Dr A Wight Date: 5 January 1993 Copies: Dr Metters Dr Skinner Dr Pickles Dr Morris Mr Murray

 

TRANSMISSION OF ALZHEIMER-TYPE PLAQUES TO PRIMATES

 

1. CMO will wish to be aware that a meeting was held at DH yesterday, 4 January, to discuss the above findings. It was chaired by Professor Murray (Chairman of the MRC Co-ordinating Committee on Research in the Spongiform Encephalopathies in Man), and attended by relevant experts in the fields of Neurology, Neuropathology, molecular biology, amyloid biochemistry, and the spongiform encephalopathies, and by representatives of the MRC and AFRC. 2. Briefly, the meeting agreed that:

 

i) Dr Ridley et als findings of experimental induction of p amyloid in primates were valid, interesting and a significant advance in the understanding of neurodegenerative disorders;

 

ii) there were no immediate implications for the public health, and no further safeguards were thought to be necessary at present; and

 

iii) additional research was desirable, both epidemiological and at the molecular level. Possible avenues are being followed up by DH and the MRC, but the details will require further discussion. 93/01.05/4.1

 


 

BSE101/1 0136

 

IN CONFIDENCE

 

5 NOV 1992 CMO From: Dr J S Metters DCMO 4 November 1992

 

TRANSMISSION OF ALZHEIMER TYPE PLAQUES TO PRIMATES

 

1. Thank you for showing me Diana Dunstan's letter. I am glad that MRC have recognized the public sensitivity of these findings and intend to report them in their proper context. This hopefully will avoid misunderstanding and possible distortion by the media to portray the results as having more greater significance than the findings so far justify.

 

2. Using a highly unusual route of transmission (intra-cerebral injection) the researchers have demonstrated the transmission of a pathological process from two cases one of severe Alzheimer's disease the other of Gerstmann-Straussler disease to marmosets. However they have not demonstrated the transmission of either clinical condition as the "animals were behaving normally when killed'. As the report emphasizes the unanswered question is whether the disease condition would have revealed itself if the marmosets had lived longer. They are planning further research to see if the conditions, as opposed to the partial pathological process, is transmissible. What are the implications for public health?

 

3. The route of transmission is very specific and in the natural state of things highly unusual. However it could be argued that the results reveal a potential risk, in that brain tissue from these two patients has been shown to transmit a pathological process. Should therefore brain tissue from such cases be regarded as potentially infective? Pathologists, morticians, neuro surgeons and those assisting at neuro surgical procedures and others coming into contact with "raw" human brain tissue could in theory be at risk. However, on a priori grounds given the highly specific route of transmission in these experiments that risk must be negligible if the usual precautions for handling brain tissue are observed.

 

92/11.4/1-1 BSE101/1 0137

 

4. The other dimension to consider is the public reaction. To some extent the GSS case demonstrates little more than the transmission of BSE to a pig by intra-cerebral injection. If other prion diseases can be transmitted in this way it is little surprise that some pathological findings observed in GSS were also transmissible to a marmoset. But the transmission of features of Alzheimer's pathology is a different matter, given the much greater frequency of this disease and raises the unanswered question whether some cases are the result of a transmissible prion. The only tenable public line will be that "more research is required" before that hypothesis could be evaluated. The possibility on a transmissible prion remains open. In the meantime MRC needs carefully to consider the range and sequence of studies needed to follow through from the preliminary observations in these two cases. Not a particularly comfortable message, but until we know more about the causation of Alzheimer's disease the total reassurance is not practical.

 

JS METTERS Room 509 Richmond House Pager No: 081-884 3344 Callsign: DOH 832 121/YdeS 92/11.4/1.2

 


 

BSE101/1 0136

 

IN CONFIDENCE

 

CMO

 

From: Dr J S Metters DCMO

 

4 November 1992

 

TRANSMISSION OF ALZHEIMER TYPE PLAQUES TO PRIMATES

 


 

CJD1/9 0185

 

Ref: 1M51A

 

IN STRICT CONFIDENCE

 

From: Dr. A Wight Date: 5 January 1993

 

Copies:

 

Dr Metters Dr Skinner Dr Pickles Dr Morris Mr Murray

 

TRANSMISSION OF ALZHEIMER-TYPE PLAQUES TO PRIMATES

 


 

Tuesday, July 1, 2014

 

Distinct synthetic Aβ prion strains producing different amyloid deposits in bigenic mice

 


 

Tuesday, November 26, 2013

 

Transmission of multiple system atrophy prions to transgenic mice

 


 

Tuesday, December 17, 2013

 

Alzheimer's Disease U.K. diagnosed by region in each of the last five years [179852]

 


 

Sunday, September 7, 2014

 

Twice as many cases of early dementia than was thought Alzheimer’s Society, the London School of Economics and the Institute of Psychiatry

 


 


 

Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathy TSE Prion Disease North America 2014

 

Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathy TSE Prion Disease have now been discovered in a wide verity of species across North America. typical C-BSE, atypical L-type BASE BSE, atypical H-type BSE, atypical H-G BSE, of the bovine, typical and atypical Scrapie strains, in sheep and goats, with atypical Nor-98 Scrapie spreading coast to coast in about 5 years. Chronic Wasting Disease CWD in cervid is slowly spreading without any stopping it in Canada and the USA and now has mutated into many different strains. Transmissible Mink Encephalopathy TME outbreaks. These Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathy TSE Prion Disease have been silently mutating and spreading in different species in North America for decades.

 

The USDA, FDA, et al have assured us of a robust Triple BSE TSE prion Firewall, of which we now know without a doubt, that it was nothing but ink on paper. Since the 1997 mad cow feed ban in the USA, literally tons and tons of banned mad cow feed has been put out into commerce, never to return, as late as December of 2013, serious, serious breaches in the FDA mad cow feed ban have been documented. The 2004 enhanced BSE surveillance program was so flawed, that one of the top TSE prion Scientist for the CDC, Dr. Paul Brown stated ; Brown, who is preparing a scientific paper based on the latest two mad cow cases to estimate the maximum number of infected cows that occurred in the United States, said he has "absolutely no confidence in USDA tests before one year ago" because of the agency's reluctance to retest the Texas cow that initially tested positive. see ; http://www.upi.com/Health_News/2006/03/15/Analysis-What-that-mad-cow-means/UPI-12841142465253/

 

The BSE surveillance and testing have also been proven to be flawed, and the GAO and OIG have both raised serious question as to just how flawed it has been (see GAO and OIG reports). North America has more documented TSE prion disease, in different documented species (excluding the Zoo BSE animals in the EU), then any other place on the Globe. This does not include the very likelihood that TSE prion disease in the domestic feline and canine have been exposed to high doses of the TSE prion disease vid pet food. To date, it’s still legal to include deer from cwd zone into pet food or deer food. Specified Risk Material i.e. SRM bans still being breach, as recently as just last month.

 

nvCJD or what they now call vCJD, another case documented in Texas last month, with very little information being released to the public on about this case? with still the same line of thought from federal officials, ‘it can’t happen here’, so another vCJD blamed on travel of a foreign animal disease from another country, while ignoring all the BSE TSE Prion risk factors we have here in the USA and Canada, and the time that this victim and others, do spend in the USA, and exposed to these risk factors, apparently do not count in any way with regard to risk factor. a flawed process of risk assessment.

 

sporadic CJD, along with new TSE prion disease in humans, of which the young are dying, of which long duration of illness from onset of symptoms to death have been documented, only to have a new name added to the pot of prion disease i.e. sporadic GSS, sporadic FFI, and or VPSPR. I only ponder how a familial type disease could be sporadic with no genetic link to any family member? when the USA is the only documented Country in the world to have documented two different cases of atypical H-type BSE, with one case being called atypical H-G BSE with the G meaning Genetic, with new science now showing that indeed atypical H-type BSE is very possible transmitted to cattle via oral transmission (Prion2014). sporadic CJD and VPSPR have been rising in Canada, USA, and the UK, with the same old excuse, better surveillance. You can only use that excuse for so many years, for so many decades, until one must conclude that CJD TSE prion cases are rising. a 48% incease in CJD in Canada is not just a blip or a reason of better surveillance, it is a mathematical rise in numbers. More and more we are seeing more humans exposed in various circumstance in the Hospital, Medical, Surgical arenas to the TSE Prion disease, and at the same time in North America, more and more humans are becoming exposed to the TSE prion disease via consumption of the TSE prion via deer and elk, cattle, sheep and goats, and for those that are exposed via or consumption, go on to further expose many others via the iatrogenic modes of transmission of the TSE prion disease i.e. friendly fire. I pondered this mode of transmission via the victims of sporadic FFI, sporadic GSS, could this be a iatrogenic event from someone sub-clinical with sFFI or sGSS ? what if?

 

Two decades have passed since Dr. Ironside first confirmed his first ten nvCJD victims in 1995. Ten years later, 2005, we had Dr. Gambetti and his first ten i.e. VPSPR in younger victims. now we know that indeed VPSPR is transmissible. yet all these TSE prion disease and victims in the USA and Canada are being pawned off as a spontaneous event, yet science has shown, the spontaneous theory has never been proven in any natural case of TSE prion disease, and scientist have warned, that they have now linked some sporadic CJD cases to atypical BSE, to atypical Scrapie, and to CWD, yet we don’t here about this in the public domain. We must make all human and animal TSE prion disease reportable in every age group, in ever state and internationally, we must have a serious re-evaluation and testing of the USA cattle herds, and we must ban interstate movement of all cervids. Any voluntary effort to do any of this will fail. Folks, we have let the industry run science far too long with regards to the TSE prion disease. While the industry and their lobbyist continues to funnel junk science to our decision policy makers, Rome burns. ...end

 

REFERENCES

 

[all scientific peer review studies and other scientific information I have put into blogs, to shorten reference data. I DO NOT advertise or make money from this, this information is for education use...lost my mom to the hvCJD, and just made a promise, never forget, and never let them forget. ...TSS]

 

Sunday, June 29, 2014

 

Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathy TSE Prion Disease North America 2014

 


 

Saturday, June 14, 2014

 

Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) Calls for Briefing on Beef Recalled for Mad Cow Potential Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT)

 


 

Thursday, June 12, 2014

 

Missouri Firm Recalls Ribeye and Carcass Products That May Contain Specified Risk Materials 4,012 pounds of fresh beef products because the dorsal root ganglia may not have been completely removed

 


 

Thursday, October 02, 2014

 

[Docket No. APHIS-2013-0064] Concurrence With OIE Risk Designations for Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy

 


 

 Thursday, July 03, 2014

 

*** How Chronic Wasting Disease is affecting deer population and what’s the risk to humans and pets?

 


 

 Tuesday, July 01, 2014

 

*** CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE CWD TSE PRION DISEASE, GAME FARMS, AND POTENTIAL RISK FACTORS THERE FROM

 


 

Tuesday, October 07, 2014

 

Wisconsin white-tailed deer tested positive for CWD on a Richland County breeding farm, and a case of CWD has been discovered on a Marathon County hunting preserve

 


 

Thursday, October 02, 2014

 

IOWA TEST RESULTS FROM CAPTIVE DEER HERD WITH CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE RELEASED 79.8 percent of the deer tested positive for the disease

 


 

 CWD STRAINS TO HUMANS ???

 

*** These results would seem to suggest that CWD does indeed have zoonotic potential, at least as judged by the compatibility of CWD prions and their human PrPC target. Furthermore, extrapolation from this simple in vitro assay suggests that if zoonotic CWD occurred, it would most likely effect those of the PRNP codon 129-MM genotype and that the PrPres type would be similar to that found in the most common subtype of sCJD (MM1).

 


 

as I said, what if ?

 

*** our results raise the possibility that CJD cases classified as VV1 may include cases caused by iatrogenic transmission of sCJD-MM1 prions or food-borne infection by type 1 prions from animals, e.g., chronic wasting disease prions in cervid. In fact, two CJD-VV1 patients who hunted deer or consumed venison have been reported (40, 41). The results of the present study emphasize the need for traceback studies and careful re-examination of the biochemical properties of sCJD-VV1 prions. ***

 


 

===========================================

 

Thursday, January 2, 2014

 

*** CWD TSE Prion in cervids to hTGmice, Heidenhain Variant Creutzfeldt-Jacob Disease MM1 genotype, and iatrogenic CJD ??? ***

 

WHAT IF ?

 


 

Saturday, April 19, 2014

 

Exploring the zoonotic potential of animal prion diseases: In vivo and in vitro approaches

 


 

*** PPo3-7: Prion Transmission from Cervids to Humans is Strain-dependent

 

*** Here we report that a human prion strain that had adopted the cervid prion protein (PrP) sequence through passage in cervidized transgenic mice efficiently infected transgenic mice expressing human PrP,

 

*** indicating that the species barrier from cervid to humans is prion strain-dependent and humans can be vulnerable to novel cervid prion strains.

 

PPo2-27:

 

Generation of a Novel form of Human PrPSc by Inter-species Transmission of Cervid Prions

 

*** Our findings suggest that CWD prions have the capability to infect humans, and that this ability depends on CWD strain adaptation, implying that the risk for human health progressively increases with the spread of CWD among cervids.

 

PPo2-7:

 

Biochemical and Biophysical Characterization of Different CWD Isolates

 

*** The data presented here substantiate and expand previous reports on the existence of different CWD strains.

 


 

Envt.07:

 

Pathological Prion Protein (PrPTSE) in Skeletal Muscles of Farmed and Free Ranging White-Tailed Deer Infected with Chronic Wasting Disease

 

***The presence and seeding activity of PrPTSE in skeletal muscle from CWD-infected cervids suggests prevention of such tissue in the human diet as a precautionary measure for food safety, pending on further clarification of whether CWD may be transmissible to humans.

 


 

>>>CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE , THERE WAS NO ABSOLUTE BARRIER TO CONVERSION OF THE HUMAN PRION PROTEIN<<<

 

*** PRICE OF CWD TSE PRION POKER GOES UP 2014 ***

 

Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathy TSE PRION update January 2, 2014

 

Wednesday, January 01, 2014

 

Molecular Barriers to Zoonotic Transmission of Prions

 

*** chronic wasting disease, there was no absolute barrier to conversion of the human prion protein.

 

*** Furthermore, the form of human PrPres produced in this in vitro assay when seeded with CWD, resembles that found in the most common human prion disease, namely sCJD of the MM1 subtype.

 


 


 

PRION2013 CONGRESSIONAL ABSTRACTS CWD

 

Sunday, August 25, 2013

 

HD.13: CWD infection in the spleen of humanized transgenic mice

 

***These results indicate that the CWD prion may have the potential to infect human peripheral lymphoid tissues.

 

Oral.15: Molecular barriers to zoonotic prion transmission: Comparison of the ability of sheep, cattle and deer prion disease isolates to convert normal human prion protein to its pathological isoform in a cell-free system ***However, they also show that there is no absolute barrier ro conversion of human prion protein in the case of chronic wasting disease.

 

PRION2013 CONGRESSIONAL ABSTRACTS CWD

 

Sunday, August 25, 2013

 

***Chronic Wasting Disease CWD risk factors, humans, domestic cats, blood, and mother to offspring transmission

 


 

there is in fact evidence that the potential for cwd transmission to humans can NOT be ruled out.

 

I thought your readers and hunters and those that consume the venison, should have all the scientific facts, personally, I don’t care what you eat, but if it effects me and my family down the road, it should then concern everyone, and the potential of iatrogenic transmission of the TSE prion is real i.e. ‘friendly fire’, medical, surgical, dental, blood, tissue, and or products there from...like deer antler velvet and TSE prions and nutritional supplements there from, all a potential risk factor that should not be ignored or silenced. ...

 

the prion gods at the cdc state that there is ;

 

''no strong evidence''

 

but let's see exactly what the authors of this cwd to human at the cdc state ;

 

now, let’s see what the authors said about this casual link, personal communications years ago. see where it is stated NO STRONG evidence. so, does this mean there IS casual evidence ????

 

“Our conclusion stating that we found no strong evidence of CWD transmission to humans”

 

From: TSS (216-119-163-189.ipset45.wt.net)

 

Subject: CWD aka MAD DEER/ELK TO HUMANS ???

 

Date: September 30, 2002 at 7:06 am PST

 

From: "Belay, Ermias"

 

To:

 

Cc: "Race, Richard (NIH)" ; ; "Belay, Ermias"

 

Sent: Monday, September 30, 2002 9:22 AM

 

Subject: RE: TO CDC AND NIH - PUB MED- 3 MORE DEATHS - CWD - YOUNG HUNTERS

 

Dear Sir/Madam,

 

In the Archives of Neurology you quoted (the abstract of which was attached to your email), we did not say CWD in humans will present like variant CJD.

 

That assumption would be wrong. I encourage you to read the whole article and call me if you have questions or need more clarification (phone: 404-639-3091). Also, we do not claim that "no-one has ever been infected with prion disease from eating venison." Our conclusion stating that we found no strong evidence of CWD transmission to humans in the article you quoted or in any other forum is limited to the patients we investigated.

 

Ermias Belay, M.D. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

 

-----Original Message-----

 

From:

 

Sent: Sunday, September 29, 2002 10:15 AM

 

To: rr26k@nih.gov; rrace@niaid.nih.gov; ebb8@CDC.GOV

 

Subject: TO CDC AND NIH - PUB MED- 3 MORE DEATHS - CWD - YOUNG HUNTERS

 

Sunday, November 10, 2002 6:26 PM ......snip........end..............TSS

 

Thursday, April 03, 2008

 

A prion disease of cervids: Chronic wasting disease

 

2008 1: Vet Res. 2008 Apr 3;39(4):41

 

A prion disease of cervids: Chronic wasting disease

 

Sigurdson CJ.

 

snip...

 

*** twenty-seven CJD patients who regularly consumed venison were reported to the Surveillance Center***,

 

snip...

 

full text ;

 


 


 


 

***********CJD REPORT 1994 increased risk for consumption of veal and venison and lamb***********

 

CREUTZFELDT JAKOB DISEASE SURVEILLANCE IN THE UNITED KINGDOM THIRD ANNUAL REPORT AUGUST 1994

 

Consumption of venison and veal was much less widespread among both cases and controls. For both of these meats there was evidence of a trend with increasing frequency of consumption being associated with increasing risk of CJD. (not nvCJD, but sporadic CJD...tss)

 

These associations were largely unchanged when attention was restricted to pairs with data obtained from relatives. ...

 

Table 9 presents the results of an analysis of these data.

 

There is STRONG evidence of an association between ‘’regular’’ veal eating and risk of CJD (p = .0.01).

 

Individuals reported to eat veal on average at least once a year appear to be at 13 TIMES THE RISK of individuals who have never eaten veal.

 

There is, however, a very wide confidence interval around this estimate. There is no strong evidence that eating veal less than once per year is associated with increased risk of CJD (p = 0.51).

 

The association between venison eating and risk of CJD shows similar pattern, with regular venison eating associated with a 9 FOLD INCREASE IN RISK OF CJD (p = 0.04).

 

There is some evidence that risk of CJD INCREASES WITH INCREASING FREQUENCY OF LAMB EATING (p = 0.02).

 

The evidence for such an association between beef eating and CJD is weaker (p = 0.14). When only controls for whom a relative was interviewed are included, this evidence becomes a little STRONGER (p = 0.08).

 

snip...

 

It was found that when veal was included in the model with another exposure, the association between veal and CJD remained statistically significant (p = < 0.05 for all exposures), while the other exposures ceased to be statistically significant (p = > 0.05).

 

snip...

 

In conclusion, an analysis of dietary histories revealed statistical associations between various meats/animal products and INCREASED RISK OF CJD. When some account was taken of possible confounding, the association between VEAL EATING AND RISK OF CJD EMERGED AS THE STRONGEST OF THESE ASSOCIATIONS STATISTICALLY. ...

 

snip...

 

In the study in the USA, a range of foodstuffs were associated with an increased risk of CJD, including liver consumption which was associated with an apparent SIX-FOLD INCREASE IN THE RISK OF CJD. By comparing the data from 3 studies in relation to this particular dietary factor, the risk of liver consumption became non-significant with an odds ratio of 1.2 (PERSONAL COMMUNICATION, PROFESSOR A. HOFMAN. ERASMUS UNIVERSITY, ROTTERDAM). (???...TSS)

 

snip...see full report ;

 


 

Thursday, October 10, 2013

 

*************CJD REPORT 1994 increased risk for consumption of veal and venison and lamb**************

 


 

CJD9/10022

 

October 1994

 

Mr R.N. Elmhirst Chairman British Deer Farmers Association Holly Lodge Spencers Lane BerksWell Coventry CV7 7BZ

 

Dear Mr Elmhirst,

 

CREUTZFELDT-JAKOB DISEASE (CJD) SURVEILLANCE UNIT REPORT

 

Thank you for your recent letter concerning the publication of the third annual report from the CJD Surveillance Unit. I am sorry that you are dissatisfied with the way in which this report was published.

 

The Surveillance Unit is a completely independant outside body and the Department of Health is committed to publishing their reports as soon as they become available. In the circumstances it is not the practice to circulate the report for comment since the findings of the report would not be amended. In future we can ensure that the British Deer Farmers Association receives a copy of the report in advance of publication.

 

The Chief Medical Officer has undertaken to keep the public fully informed of the results of any research in respect of CJD. This report was entirely the work of the unit and was produced completely independantly of the the Department.

 

The statistical results reqarding the consumption of venison was put into perspective in the body of the report and was not mentioned at all in the press release. Media attention regarding this report was low key but gave a realistic presentation of the statistical findings of the Unit. This approach to publication was successful in that consumption of venison was highlighted only once by the media ie. in the News at one television proqramme.

 

I believe that a further statement about the report, or indeed statistical links between CJD and consumption of venison, would increase, and quite possibly give damaging credence, to the whole issue. From the low key media reports of which I am aware it seems unlikely that venison consumption will suffer adversely, if at all.

 


 

*** The potential impact of prion diseases on human health was greatly magnified by the recognition that interspecies transfer of BSE to humans by beef ingestion resulted in vCJD. While changes in animal feed constituents and slaughter practices appear to have curtailed vCJD, there is concern that CWD of free-ranging deer and elk in the U.S. might also cross the species barrier. Thus, consuming venison could be a source of human prion disease. Whether BSE and CWD represent interspecies scrapie transfer or are newly arisen prion diseases is unknown. Therefore, the possibility of transmission of prion disease through other food animals cannot be ruled out. There is evidence that vCJD can be transmitted through blood transfusion. There is likely a pool of unknown size of asymptomatic individuals infected with vCJD, and there may be asymptomatic individuals infected with the CWD equivalent. These circumstances represent a potential threat to blood, blood products, and plasma supplies.

 


 

Wednesday, September 17, 2014

 

*** Cost benefit analysis of the development and use of ante-mortem tests for transmissible spongiform encephalopathies ***

 

BOTTOM LINE $$$

 

IF YOU TEST, YOU FIND, and the more you test, the more you will find.

 

HUMANS ARE EXPENDABLE WITH A SLOW, LONG INCUBATING, 100% FATAL DISEASE, ONCE CLINICAL DISEASE...tss

 


 

Monday, June 02, 2014

 

Confirmed Human BSE aka mad cow Variant CJD vCJD or nvCJD Case in Texas

 


 


 


 

 

 

Terry S. Singeltary Sr.