Press release
The 27th Colloque Médecine et Recherche of the Fondation Ipsen in the Alzheimer Disease series: “Proteopathic Seeds and Neurodegenerative Diseases”
Paris (France), February 28, 2012 – In the mid 1980s, Stanley Prusiner startled the scientific world by claiming that transmissible neurodegenerative diseases such as Creutzfeldt-Jakob in humans and Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE; ‘mad cow disease’) were caused by self-replicating protein molecules, which he named prions. Painstaking work to establish that prion proteins could replicate without the need for genetic material won him the Nobel prize in 1997. What at first seemed an unusual mechanism restricted to a rather rare group of diseases has now become central to the study of all neurodegenerative conditions: the pathogenic proteins that characterise these diseases all seem to behave like prions. The implications for understanding how these diseases are transmitted through the nervous system and the possibility that environmental contamination may account for the sporadic forms of these diseases, as well as therapeutic possibilities, were among the topics discussed by the thirteen international experts, including two Nobel Prize winners, at the 27th annual colloquium on Alzheimer’s disease, hosted by the Fondation IPSEN. The meeting, hold in Paris on February 27, 2012, has been organized by Mathias Jucker (University of Tübingen, Germany) and Yves Christen (Fondation IPSEN, Paris).
Prions are Janus-like proteins synthesised by neurons: in their normal, globular conformation they participate in cellular functions but in certain circumstances they adopt a pleated β-sheet configuration, which forms insoluble fibrous aggregates that disrupt cell function. This aggregated form is found in neurons in a group of neurodegenerative diseases known as the transmissible spongiform encephalopathies, which include Kuru, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) in humans, BSE in cattle and scrapie in sheep. All of these diseases can be transmitted by contact with brain material from affected individuals – the cause of great concern in the late 1980s and early 1990s when people developed a form of CJD after eating products from cows with BSE.
By the 1980s, a long hunt had failed to find either a bacterial or viral agent causing these diseases. Stanley Prusiner and his colleagues proposed instead that the infectious agent was the β-sheet form of the prion protein, which was able to replicate using itself as a template. As the first claim for replication without the need for nucleic acids, this was to say the least controversial. Now it is well accepted that ‘rogue’ molecules in the β-sheet conformation, now known as ‘prions’, can act as a seed, converting normal prion proteins into β-sheet type molecules. These adopt a fibrillar configuration and aggregate into an amyloid-like deposit that disrupts the neuron’s function. Prions released from cells are taken up by neighbours and trigger the same cascade of transformation and aggregation. Genetics still plays a part, because various mutations in the prion protein gene promote this transformation, while some polymorphisms (substitution of one base in the gene sequence for another) make individuals more susceptible to developing a prion disease.
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The parallels with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) were soon noted: a cellular protein, in this case the amyloid-β peptide, adopts a β-sheet, fibrillar conformation that aggregates in the brain as amyloid plaques; again genetics plays a part, at least in early-onset, familial AD, which is associated with mutations in amyloid-β’s parent protein, the amyloid precursor protein. More recently, it has become clear that this prion-like pattern is common to all the neurodegenerative diseases, including Parkinson’s, Huntington’s and motor neuron disease (Stanley Prusiner, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, USA): each is characterised by a disease-specific cellular protein that transforms into a β-sheet configuration that subsequently aggregates. Moreover, mutations associated with familial forms of the diseases have now been identified for all these signature proteins. As a consequence these conditions are now being designated as protein misfolding disorders (Claudio Soto, University of Texas Houston Medical School, Houston, USA) and the proteins responsible could be considered as mammalian prions (Prusiner).
If the misfolded proteins associated with the various neurodegenerative diseases do behave like prions, they should be capable of triggering the transformation of the cellular protein in unaffected cells. Transfer of a systemic (non-neural) amyloidosis between mice was first demonstrated over 40 years ago (Per Westermark, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden). Several speakers at the meeting have presented data supporting this hypothesis for various neurodegenerative diseases, either by injecting a brain homogenate from mice genetically engineered to develop the disease into the brains of susceptible but disease-free animals (Prusiner; Mathias Jucker, Hertie-Institute for Clinical Brain Research and German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases, Tübingen, Germany; Soto; Michel Goedert, MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Cambridge, UK; Patrik Brundin, Lund University, Lund, Sweden; Virginia Lee, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, USA); by injecting synthetic protein fibrils into brains (Lee); or by testing purified protein extracts on neuron cultures (Anne Bertolotti, MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Cambridge, UK; Ron Kopito, Stanford University, Stanford, USA). Another clear indication of transcellular induction comes from Parkinson’s disease patients who have had stem-cell transplants: β-sheet proteins have been found in the neurons derived from the stem cells (Brundin).
This triggering ability of the aberrant proteins, which has gained them the label of proteopathic seeds, also seems to be responsible for the temporal spread of degeneration through the brain that is typical of the neurodegenerative diseases (Jucker; Brundin; Lee). Perhaps more significant, the aberrant proteins have been found in the brain after intraperitoneal injection or blood transfusion (Soto); as with prions, transport along the vagal nerve seems to be the most likely route into the brain (Prusiner; Brundin). This opens up the possibility of an environmental causation for the many patients with a neurodegenerative disease who do not have hereditary links (Jucker; Soto; Westermark).
The mechanisms underlying proteopathic seeding are still unclear. The spread of the β-sheet transformation seems to depend on both the configuration of the seed itself and the genetic constitution of the animal – again very like the prion diseases (Jucker; Goedert). The uptake of the seed proteins into neurons is being examined in culture (Bertolotti; Kopito) and model systems (Brundin). The key seems to be in the interaction between the seed protein and cell membranes and, in some cases at least, helper proteins are required (Brundin). To understand how seeding works, it is essential to know the structure of the β-sheet proteins. Taking amyloid-β as an example, the conditions that determine what type of fibril and aggregates will form, and how this relates to the mutations in the amyloid precursor protein will be discussed (Robert Tycko, National Institutes of Health, NIDDK, Bethesda,
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USA). Cooperativity between β-sheet molecules may also be important in aggregation (Roland Riek, ETH Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland). Helpful insights can also come from systemic diseases in which amyloid accumulates, such as AA amyloidosis. Amyloid, a generic term for protein aggregates, is in this case produced by the inflammatory protein serum amyloid A (Westermark). There is evidence that AA amyloid formation can be triggered by other types of amyloid molecule, leading to speculation that amyloid fibrils found in the environment and food could cross-seed amyloid formation in the body or brain. As knowledge about proteopathic seeding accumulates, new prospects for therapeutic intervention open up (Peter Lansbury, Brigham and Women´s Hospital, Boston, USA). The initial conversion of functional globular protein into potentially pathogenic β-sheet form, the seeding cascade that coverts further globular protein to β-sheet, and the mechanisms by which neurons take up prion-like β-sheet molecules are all potential targets. The discovery that amyloid-β seeds are partly soluble and may be present in body fluids offers a possible alternative strategy for an early diagnostic (Jucker).
At the same time, it is essential to remember that prion-like molecules have biological functions, which poses further challenges in the design of therapeutics. A form of amyloid seems to participate in the storage of hormones in secretory granules and in skin pigmentation (Riek), while self-replicating prion-like proteins are a necessary part of the molecular mechanism for long-term memory storage in both the fly and the mouse (Eric Kandel, Columbia University, New York, USA). Intervention to prevent the spread of a β- sheet protein like amyloid-β through the nervous system that interfere with important biological mechanisms, particularly those involved in memory storage, obviously need to be avoided. Despite these caveats, the unfolding of yet another significant aspect of neurodegeneration offers exciting prospects for both the basic understanding of these devastating diseases and their treatment.
About the Fondation Ipsen
Established in 1983 under the aegis of the Fondation de France, the mission of the Fondation Ipsen is to contribute to the development and dissemination of scientific knowledge. The long-standing action of the Fondation Ipsen aims at fostering the interaction between researchers and clinical practitioners, which is indispensable due to the extreme specialisation of these professions. The ambition of the Fondation Ipsen is to initiate a reflection about the major scientific issues of the forthcoming years. It has developed an important international network of scientific experts who meet regularly at meetings known as Colloques Médecine et Recherche, dedicated to six main themes: Alzheimer's disease, neurosciences, longevity, endocrinology, the vascular system and cancer science. Moreover the Fondation Ipsen has started since 2007 several meetings in partnership with the Salk Institute, the Karolinska Institutet, the Massachusetts General Hospital, the Days of Molecular Medicine Global Foundation as well as with the science journals Nature, Cell and Science. The Fondation Ipsen produced several hundreds publications; more than 250 scientists and biomedical researchers have been awarded prizes and research grants.
For further information, please contact: Isabelle de Segonzac, Image Sept E-mail : isegonzac@image7.fr Tel. : +33 (0)1 53 70 74 70
>>> This opens up the possibility of an environmental causation for the many patients with a neurodegenerative disease who do not have hereditary links (Jucker; Soto; Westermark). <<<
From: Terry S. Singeltary Sr.
Sent: Monday, February 27, 2012 10:43 AM
To: j.a.morton@sheffield.ac.uk
Cc: b.chen@sheffield.ac.uk
Subject: re-3rd April 2012 Prion Protein and Alzheimer's Disease Workshop
re-3rd April 2012 Prion Protein and Alzheimer's Disease Workshop
Greetings TSE Prion Gods,
I propose for the workshop to start out with the fact that the UKBSEnvCJD only theory that was brought forth by Ironside et el, was/is in fact bogus.
I propose that the UKBSEnvCJD only theory, only helps to enhance the spread of all TSE prion disease.
I propose that the UKBSEnvCJD only theory, was nothing more than a bogus theory, put forth, for trade purposes only. IN fact, I think I have proven this. Sadly, no body cares.
MAFF, DEFRA, USDA, CFIA, FDA, AND THE OIE, should all be brought before some sort of Global Court, International Tribune of sorts, for their parts in helping to spread the TSE BSE (typical and atypical), and they should all be held accountable for the death they have caused due to this stupid theory, bought and paid for by your local cattle dealers i.e. only testing 400 animals out of some 1 million. but in the USA, the enhances BSE surveillance program was rigged from the beginning $$$ The BSE Inquiry (which daily reports were flown to me as they happened), as watered down as it was (unless you read some of the DFAs), proved that it was all a cover up. IN the USA, it’s much worse than that.
THESE are the facts as I have come to know them in this 15 year saga/debacle I have watched daily, as a layperson. I could not, would not, ever, accept the fact that my mother died from a happenstance of bad luck, that it was just a spontaneous happening from nothing, just a funked out twisted protein. well, that may be the case about the funked out twisted up protein, that just happened to twist the wrong way, or simply had a bad day. but something caused it.
I will never, not in a million years, and I don’t think too many others believe it anymore either, that it was only a UK disease, only the UK gets mad cow and or human variant there from, and that it all looks like nvCJD there from, when we have multiple strains and routes and source everywhere, in many species (TSE prion disease).
from day one, it was nothing but trade policy they were concerned with, and policy there from was based on nothing more than trade. to hell with human and animal health.
today, 2012, North America is in one hell of a mess with TSE prion disease, and it’s like it never happened, thanks to all of the above i.e. MAFF, DEFRA, USDA, CFIA, FDA, AND THE OIE.
well I am here to tell you, time is running out, the spreading of TSE via the medical, surgical, tissue, blood, dental related issues are happening, you and everyone else knows this. now that CWD has mutated, BSE has mutated, Scrapie has mutated, some of these atypical TSE that have mutated have become much more virulent. but yet the world and it’s policy making is still living in the pre-historic TSE prion mad cow days, i.e. UKBSEnvCJD only theory, and this will come back to haunt all of you. I hope I live long enough to see this. You all know it could have been avoidable, if not for the fact of the $$$
layperson
Terry S. Singeltary Sr.
P.O. Box 42
Bacliff, Texas USA 77518
flounder9@verizon.net
*** Chronic Wasting Disease CWD CDC REPORT MARCH 2012 ***
Saturday, February 18, 2012
Occurrence, Transmission, and Zoonotic Potential of Chronic Wasting Disease
CDC Volume 18, Number 3—March 2012
snip...
CWD Zoonotic Potential, Species Barriers, and Strains
Current Understanding of the CWD Species Barrier
Strong evidence of zoonotic transmission of BSE to humans has led to concerns about zoonotic transmission of CWD (2,3). As noted above, CWD prions are present nearly ubiquitously throughout diseased hosts, including in muscle, fat, various glands and organs, antler velvet, and peripheral and CNS tissue (2,14,15). Thus, the potential for human exposure to CWD by handling and consumption of infectious cervid material is substantial and increases with increased disease prevalence.
Interspecies transmission of prion diseases often yields a species-barrier effect, in which transmission is less efficient compared with intraspecies transmission, as shown by lower attack rates and extended incubation periods (3,28). The species barrier effect is associated with minor differences in PrPc sequence and structure between the host and target species (3). Prion strain (discussed below) and route of inoculation also affect the species barrier (3,28). For instance, interspecies transmission by intracerebral inoculation is often possible but oral challenge is completely ineffective (29).
Most epidemiologic studies and experimental work have suggested that the potential for CWD transmission to humans is low, and such transmission has not been documented through ongoing surveillance (2,3). In vitro prion replication assays report a relatively low efficiency of CWD PrPSc-directed conversion of human PrPc to PrPSc (30), and transgenic mice overexpressing human PrPc are resistant to CWD infection (31); these findings indicate low zoonotic potential. However, squirrel monkeys are susceptible to CWD by intracerebral and oral inoculation (32). Cynomolgus macaques, which are evolutionarily closer to humans than squirrel monkeys, are resistant to CWD infection (32). Regardless, the finding that a primate is orally susceptible to CWD is of concern.
Interspecies transmission of CWD to noncervids has not been observed under natural conditions. CWD infection of carcass scavengers such as raccoons, opossums, and coyotes was not observed in a recent study in Wisconsin (22). In addition, natural transmission of CWD to cattle has not been observed in experimentally controlled natural exposure studies or targeted surveillance (2). However, CWD has been experimentally transmitted to cattle, sheep, goats, mink, ferrets, voles, and mice by intracerebral inoculation (2,29,33).
CWD is likely transmitted among mule, white-tailed deer, and elk without a major species barrier (1), and other members of the cervid family, including reindeer, caribou, and other species of deer worldwide, may be vulnerable to CWD infection. Black-tailed deer (a subspecies of mule deer) and European red deer (Cervus elaphus) are susceptible to CWD by natural routes of infection (1,34). Fallow deer (Dama dama) are susceptible to CWD by intracerebral inoculation (35). Continued study of CWD susceptibility in other cervids is of considerable interest.
Reasons for Caution
There are several reasons for caution with respect to zoonotic and interspecies CWD transmission. First, there is strong evidence that distinct CWD strains exist (36). Prion strains are distinguished by varied incubation periods, clinical symptoms, PrPSc conformations, and CNS PrPSc depositions (3,32). Strains have been identified in other natural prion diseases, including scrapie, BSE, and CJD (3). Intraspecies and interspecies transmission of prions from CWD-positive deer and elk isolates resulted in identification of >2 strains of CWD in rodent models (36), indicating that CWD strains likely exist in cervids. However, nothing is currently known about natural distribution and prevalence of CWD strains. Currently, host range and pathogenicity vary with prion strain (28,37). Therefore, zoonotic potential of CWD may also vary with CWD strain. In addition, diversity in host (cervid) and target (e.g., human) genotypes further complicates definitive findings of zoonotic and interspecies transmission potentials of CWD.
Intraspecies and interspecies passage of the CWD agent may also increase the risk for zoonotic CWD transmission. The CWD prion agent is undergoing serial passage naturally as the disease continues to emerge. In vitro and in vivo intraspecies transmission of the CWD agent yields PrPSc with an increased capacity to convert human PrPc to PrPSc (30). Interspecies prion transmission can alter CWD host range (38) and yield multiple novel prion strains (3,28). The potential for interspecies CWD transmission (by cohabitating mammals) will only increase as the disease spreads and CWD prions continue to be shed into the environment. This environmental passage itself may alter CWD prions or exert selective pressures on CWD strain mixtures by interactions with soil, which are known to vary with prion strain (25), or exposure to environmental or gut degradation.
Given that prion disease in humans can be difficult to diagnose and the asymptomatic incubation period can last decades, continued research, epidemiologic surveillance, and caution in handling risky material remain prudent as CWD continues to spread and the opportunity for interspecies transmission increases. Otherwise, similar to what occurred in the United Kingdom after detection of variant CJD and its subsequent link to BSE, years of prevention could be lost if zoonotic transmission of CWD is subsequently identified,
Saturday, February 18, 2012
Occurrence, Transmission, and Zoonotic Potential of Chronic Wasting Disease
CDC Volume 18, Number 3—March 2012
see much more here ;
50 GAME FARMS IN USA INFECTED WITH CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE CWD
2012
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE CWD WISCONSIN Almond Deer (Buckhorn Flats) Farm Update DECEMBER 2011
> > > The CWD infection rate was nearly 80%, the highest ever in a North American captive herd.
Despite the five year premise plan and site decontamination, The WI DNR has concerns over the bioavailability of infectious prions at this site to wild white-tail deer should these fences be removed. Current research indicates that prions can persist in soil for a minimum of 3 years.
However, Georgsson et al. (2006) concluded that prions that produced scrapie disease in sheep remained bioavailable and infectious for at least 16 years in natural Icelandic environments, most likely in contaminated soil.
Additionally, the authors reported that from 1978-2004, scrapie recurred on 33 sheep farms, of which 9 recurrences occurred 14-21 years after initial culling and subsequent restocking efforts; these findings further emphasize the effect of environmental contamination on sustaining TSE infectivity and that long-term persistence of prions in soils may be substantially greater than previously thought. < < <
SNIP...SEE FULL TEXT ;
Thursday, February 09, 2012
50 GAME FARMS IN USA INFECTED WITH CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE
Thursday, February 16, 2012
Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy BSE
31 USA SENATORS ASK PRESIDENT OBAMA TO HELP SPREAD MAD COW DISEASE 2012
Thursday, February 23, 2012
EIGHT FORMER SECRETARIES OF AGRICULTURE SPEAKING AT USDA'S 2012 AGRICULTURE OUTLOOK FORUM INDUCTED INTO USA MAD COW HALL OF SHAME
Monday, November 30, 2009
USDA AND OIE COLLABORATE TO EXCLUDE ATYPICAL SCRAPIE NOR-98 ANIMAL HEALTH CODE
Thursday, February 23, 2012
Atypical Scrapie NOR-98 confirmed Alberta Canada sheep January 2012
BSE: TIME TO TAKE H.B. PARRY SERIOUSLY
If the scrapie agent is generated from ovine DNA and thence causes disease in other species, then perhaps, bearing in mind the possible role of scrapie in CJD of humans (Davinpour et al, 1985), scrapie and not BSE should be the notifiable disease. ...
Monday, October 10, 2011
EFSA Journal 2011 The European Response to BSE: A Success Story
snip...
EFSA and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) recently delivered a scientific opinion on any possible epidemiological or molecular association between TSEs in animals and humans (EFSA Panel on Biological Hazards (BIOHAZ) and ECDC, 2011). This opinion confirmed Classical BSE prions as the only TSE agents demonstrated to be zoonotic so far but the possibility that a small proportion of human cases so far classified as "sporadic" CJD are of zoonotic origin could not be excluded. Moreover, transmission experiments to non-human primates suggest that some TSE agents in addition to Classical BSE prions in cattle (namely L-type Atypical BSE, Classical BSE in sheep, transmissible mink encephalopathy (TME) and chronic wasting disease (CWD) agents) might have zoonotic potential.
snip...
see follow-up here about North America BSE Mad Cow TSE prion risk factors, and the ever emerging strains of Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathy in many species here in the USA, including humans ;
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Seven main threats for the future linked to prions
First threat
The TSE road map defining the evolution of European policy for protection against prion diseases is based on a certain numbers of hypotheses some of which may turn out to be erroneous. In particular, a form of BSE (called atypical Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy), recently identified by systematic testing in aged cattle without clinical signs, may be the origin of classical BSE and thus potentially constitute a reservoir, which may be impossible to eradicate if a sporadic origin is confirmed.
***Also, a link is suspected between atypical BSE and some apparently sporadic cases of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in humans. These atypical BSE cases constitute an unforeseen first threat that could sharply modify the European approach to prion diseases.
Second threat
snip...
Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport References Committee
The possible impacts and consequences for public health, trade and agriculture of the Government's decision to relax import restrictions on beef Final report June 2010
2.65 At its hearing on 14 May 2010, the committee heard evidence from Dr Alan Fahey who has recently submitted a thesis on the clinical neuropsychiatric, epidemiological and diagnostic features of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.48 Dr Fahey told the committee of his concerns regarding the lengthy incubation period for transmissible spongiform encephalopathies, the inadequacy of current tests and the limited nature of our current understanding of this group of diseases.49
2.66 Dr Fahey also told the committee that in the last two years a link has been established between forms of atypical CJD and atypical BSE. Dr Fahey said that: They now believe that those atypical BSEs overseas are in fact causing sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. They were not sure if it was due to mad sheep disease or a different form. If you look in the textbooks it looks like this is just arising by itself. But in my research I have a summary of a document which states that there has never been any proof that sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease has arisen de novo-has arisen of itself. There is no proof of that. The recent research is that in fact it is due to atypical forms of mad cow disease which have been found across Europe, have been found in America and have been found in Asia. These atypical forms of mad cow disease typically have even longer incubation periods than the classical mad cow disease.50
Atypical BSE in Cattle
To date the OIE/WAHO assumes that the human and animal health standards set out in the BSE chapter for classical BSE (C-Type) applies to all forms of BSE which include the H-type and L-type atypical forms. This assumption is scientifically not completely justified and accumulating evidence suggests that this may in fact not be the case. Molecular characterization and the spatial distribution pattern of histopathologic lesions and immunohistochemistry (IHC) signals are used to identify and characterize atypical BSE. Both the L-type and H-type atypical cases display significant differences in the conformation and spatial accumulation of the disease associated prion protein (PrPSc) in brains of afflicted cattle. Transmission studies in bovine transgenic and wild type mouse models support that the atypical BSE types might be unique strains because they have different incubation times and lesion profiles when compared to C-type BSE. When L-type BSE was inoculated into ovine transgenic mice and Syrian hamster the resulting molecular fingerprint had changed, either in the first or a subsequent passage, from L-type into C-type BSE.
In addition, non-human primates are specifically susceptible for atypical BSE as demonstrated by an approximately 50% shortened incubation time for L-type BSE as compared to C-type. Considering the current scientific information available, it cannot be assumed that these different BSE types pose the same human health risks as C-type BSE or that these risks are mitigated by the same protective measures.
This study will contribute to a correct definition of specified risk material (SRM) in atypical BSE. The incumbent of this position will develop new and transfer existing, ultra-sensitive methods for the detection of atypical BSE in tissue of experimentally infected cattle.
When L-type BSE was inoculated into ovine transgenic mice and Syrian hamster the resulting molecular fingerprint had changed, either in the first or a subsequent passage, from L-type into C-type BSE. In addition, non-human primates are specifically susceptible for atypical BSE as demonstrated by an approximately 50% shortened incubation time for L-type BSE as compared to C-type. Considering the current scientific information available, it cannot be assumed that these different BSE types pose the same human health risks as C-type BSE or that these risks are mitigated by the same protective measures.
This study will contribute to a correct definition of specified risk material (SRM) in atypical BSE. The incumbent of this position will develop new and transfer existing, ultra-sensitive methods for the detection of atypical BSE in tissue of experimentally infected cattle.
Saturday, June 25, 2011
Transmissibility of BSE-L and Cattle-Adapted TME Prion Strain to Cynomolgus Macaque
"BSE-L in North America may have existed for decades"
Over the next 8-10 weeks, approximately 40% of all the adult mink on the farm died from TME.
snip...
The rancher was a ''dead stock'' feeder using mostly (>95%) downer or dead dairy cattle...
Sunday, February 5, 2012
February 2012 Update on Feed Enforcement Activities to Limit the Spread of BSE
Transmissible Spongiform encephalopathy (TSE) animal and human TSE in North America
14th ICID International Scientific Exchange Brochure -
Final Abstract Number: ISE.114
Session: International Scientific Exchange
Transmissible Spongiform encephalopathy (TSE) animal and human TSE in North America
update October 2009
T. Singeltary
Bacliff, TX, USA
Background:
An update on atypical BSE and other TSE in North America. Please remember, the typical U.K. c-BSE, the atypical l-BSE (BASE), and h-BSE have all been documented in North America, along with the typical scrapie's, and atypical Nor-98 Scrapie, and to date, 2 different strains of CWD, and also TME. All these TSE in different species have been rendered and fed to food producing animals for humans and animals in North America (TSE in cats and dogs ?), and that the trading of these TSEs via animals and products via the USA and Canada has been immense over the years, decades.
Methods:
12 years independent research of available data
Results:
I propose that the current diagnostic criteria for human TSEs only enhances and helps the spreading of human TSE from the continued belief of the UKBSEnvCJD only theory in 2009. With all the science to date refuting it, to continue to validate this old myth, will only spread this TSE agent through a multitude of potential routes and sources i.e. consumption, medical i.e., surgical, blood, dental, endoscopy, optical, nutritional supplements, cosmetics etc.
Conclusion:
I would like to submit a review of past CJD surveillance in the USA, and the urgent need to make all human TSE in the USA a reportable disease, in every state, of every age group, and to make this mandatory immediately without further delay. The ramifications of not doing so will only allow this agent to spread further in the medical, dental, surgical arena's. Restricting the reporting of CJD and or any human TSE is NOT scientific. Iatrogenic CJD knows NO age group, TSE knows no boundaries. I propose as with Aguzzi, Asante, Collinge, Caughey, Deslys, Dormont, Gibbs, Gajdusek, Ironside, Manuelidis, Marsh, et al and many more, that the world of TSE Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathy is far from an exact science, but there is enough proven science to date that this myth should be put to rest once and for all, and that we move forward with a new classification for human and animal TSE that would properly identify the infected species, the source species, and then the route.
page 114 ;
======================================================
Terry S. Singeltary Sr. on the Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease Public Health Crisis
full text with source references ;
Monday, September 26, 2011
L-BSE BASE prion and atypical sporadic CJD
SEE RISE IN cpsCJD i.e. classification pending sporadic CJD ;
CANADA CJD UPDATE 2011
CJD Deaths Reported by CJDSS1, 1994-20112 As of January 31, 2011
3. Final classification of 49 cases from 2009, 2010, 2011 is pending.
snip...
USA 2011
USA
National Prion Disease Pathology Surveillance Center
Cases Examined1
(November 1, 2010)
Year Total Referrals2 Prion Disease Sporadic Familial Iatrogenic vCJD
1996 & earlier 51 33 28 5 0 0
1997 114 68 59 9 0 0
1998 87 51 43 7 1 0
1999 121 73 65 8 0 0
2000 146 103 89 14 0 0
2001 209 119 109 10 0 0
2002 248 149 125 22 2 0
2003 274 176 137 39 0 0
2004 325 186 164 21 0 13
2005 344 194 157 36 1 0
2006 383 197 166 29 0 24
2007 377 214 187 27 0 0
2008 394 231 205 25 0 0
2009 425 258 215 43 0 0
2010 333 213 158 33 0 0
TOTAL 38315 22656 1907 328 4 3
1 Listed based on the year of death or, if not available, on year of referral;
2 Cases with suspected prion disease for which brain tissue and/or blood (in familial cases) were submitted;
3 Disease acquired in the United Kingdom;
4 Disease was acquired in the United Kingdom in one case and in Saudi Arabia in the other case;
5 Includes 18 cases in which the diagnosis is pending, and 18 inconclusive cases;
6 Includes 23 (22 from 2010) cases with type determination pending in which the diagnosis of vCJD has been excluded.
Please notice where sporadic CJD cases in 1996 went from 28 cases, to 215 cases in 2009, the highest recorded year to date. sporadic CJD is on a steady rise, and has been since 1996.
I also urge you to again notice these disturbing factors in lines 5 and 6 ;
5 Includes 18 cases in which the diagnosis is pending, and 18 inconclusive cases;
6 Includes 23 (22 from 2010) cases with type determination pending in which the diagnosis of vCJD has been excluded.
========end=====tss=====2011
Monday, August 9, 2010
National Prion Disease Pathology Surveillance Center Cases Examined (July 31, 2010)
(please watch and listen to the video and the scientist speaking about atypical BSE and sporadic CJD and listen to Professor Aguzzi)
THE steady rise of sporadic CJD cases in Canada AND USA, with many unusual cases of ''PENDING CLASSIFICATIONS" which have been pending now FOR 3 YEARS. HOW long can this cover-up continue $$$
The most recent assessments (and reassessments) were published in June 2005 (Table I; 18), and included the categorisation of Canada, the USA, and Mexico as GBR III. Although only Canada and the USA have reported cases, the historically open system of trade in North America suggests that it is likely that BSE is present also in Mexico.
why do we not want to do TSE transmission studies on chimpanzees $
snip...
5. A positive result from a chimpanzee challenged severly would likely create alarm in some circles even if the result could not be interpreted for man. I have a view that all these agents could be transmitted provided a large enough dose by appropriate routes was given and the animals kept long enough. Until the mechanisms of the species barrier are more clearly understood it might be best to retain that hypothesis.
snip...
R. BRADLEY
1992
IN CONFIDENCE
BSE - ATYPICAL LESION DISTRIBUTION (RBSE 92-21367)
1992
NEW BRAIN DISORDER
3. WHAT ABOUT REPORTS OF NEW FORM OF BSE ?
THE VETERINARY RECORD HAS PUBLISHED AN ARTICLE ON A NEW BRAIN DISORDER OF CATTLE DISCOVERED THROUGH OUR CONTROL MEASURES FOR BSE. ALTHOUGH IT PRESENTS SIMILAR CLINICAL SIGNS TO BSE THERE ARE MAJOR DIFFERENCES IN HISTOPATHOLOGY AND INCUBATION PERIODS BETWEEN THE TWO. MUST EMPHASISE THAT THIS IS _NOT_ BSE.
4. IS THIS NEW BRAIN DISORDER A THREAT ?
WE DO NOT EVEN KNOW WHETHER THE AGENT OF THIS DISEASE IS TRANSMISSIBLE. IN ANY CASE, CASES SO FAR IDENTIFIED HAD SHOWN SIMILAR SYMPTOMS TO THOSE OF BSE, AND THEREFORE HAVE BEEN SLAUGHTERED AND INCINERATED, SO THAT IF A TRANSMISSIBLE AGENT WERE INVOLVED IT WOULD HAVE BEEN ELIMINATED. ...
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
SEAC NEW RESULTS ON IDIOPATHIC BRAINSTEM NEURONAL CHROMATOLYSIS (IBNC) FROM THE VETERINARY LABORATORIES AGENCY (VLA) SEAC 103/1
NEW RESULTS ON IDIOPATHIC BRAINSTEM NEURONAL CHROMATOLYSIS
"All of the 15 cattle tested showed that the brains had abnormally accumulated PrP"
2009
''THE LINE TO TAKE'' ON IBNC $$$ 1995 $$$
1995
page 9 of 14 ;
30. The Committee noted that the results were unusual. the questioned whether there could be coincidental BSE infection or contamination with scrapie. Dr. Tyrell noted that the feeling of the committee was that this did not represent a new agent but it was important to be prepared to say something publicly about these findings. A suggested line to take was that these were scientifically unpublishable results but in line with the policy of openness they would be made publicly available and further work done to test their validity. Since the BSE precautions were applied to IBNC cases, human health was protected. Further investigations should be carried out on isolations from brains of IBNC cases with removal of the brain and subsequent handling under strict conditions to avoid the risk of any contamination.
31. Mr. Bradley informed the Committee that the CVO had informed the CMO about the IBNC results and the transmission from retina and he, like the Committee was satisfied that the controls already in place or proposed were adequate. ...
snip... see full text
http://web.archive.org/web/20030327015011/http://www.bseinquiry.gov.uk/files/yb/1995/06/21005001.pdf
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Atypical prion proteins and IBNC in cattle DEFRA project code SE1796 FOIA Final report
IN CONFIDENCE
BSE ATYPICAL LESION DISTRIBUTION
http://web.archive.org/web/20041226015813/http://www.bseinquiry.gov.uk/files/yb/1993/03/14001001.pdf
Tuesday, November 02, 2010
BSE - ATYPICAL LESION DISTRIBUTION (RBSE 92-21367) statutory (obex only) diagnostic criteria CVL 1992
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Experimental H-type bovine spongiform encephalopathy characterized by plaques and glial- and stellate-type prion protein deposits
Friday, February 10, 2012
Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) biannual update (2012/1) potential iatrogenic (healthcare-acquired) exposure to CJD, and on the National Anonymous Tonsil Archive
Sunday, February 12, 2012
National Prion Disease Pathology Surveillance Center Cases Examined1 (August 19, 2011) including Texas
snip...
CJD TEXAS 38 YEAR OLD FEMALE WORKED SLAUGHTERING CATTLE EXPOSED TO BRAIN AND SPINAL CORD MATTER
Irma Linda Andablo CJD Victim, she died at 38 years old on February 6, 2010 in Mesquite Texas
Irma Linda Andablo CJD Victim, she died at 38 years old on February 6, 2010 in Mesquite Texas. She left 6 Kids and a Husband. The Purpose of this web is to give information in Spanish to the Hispanic community, and to all the community who want's information about this terrible disease.-
Physician Discharge Summary, Parkland Hospital, Dallas Texas
Admit Date: 12/29/2009 Discharge Date: 1/20/2010 Attending Provider: Greenberg, Benjamin Morris; General Neurology Team: General Neurology Team
snip...
The husband says that they have lived in Nebraska for the past 21 years. They had seen a doctor there during the summer time who prescribed her Seroquel and Lexapro, Thinking these were sx of a mood disorder. However, the medications did not help and she continued to deteriorate clinically. Up until about 6 years ago, the pt worked at Tyson foods where she worked on the assembly line, slaughtering cattle and preparing them for packaging. She was exposed to brain and spinal cord matter when she would euthanize the cattle. The husband says that he does not know any fellow workers with a similar illness. He also says that she did not have any preceeding illness or travel.
snip...
>>> Up until about 6 years ago, the pt worked at Tyson foods where she worked on the assembly line, slaughtering cattle and preparing them for packaging. She was exposed to brain and spinal cord matter when she would euthanize the cattle. <<<
SEE MORE HERE ;
CJD TEXAS 38 YEAR OLD FEMALE WORKED SLAUGHTERING CATTLE EXPOSED TO BRAIN AND SPINAL CORD MATTER
snip...
see ;
Sunday, February 12, 2012
National Prion Disease Pathology Surveillance Center Cases Examined1 (August 19, 2011) including Texas
*** Spraker suggested an interesting explanation for the occurrence of CWD. The deer pens at the Foot Hills Campus were built some 30-40 years ago by a Dr. Bob Davis. At or abut that time, allegedly, some scrapie work was conducted at this site. When deer were introduced to the pens they occupied ground that had previously been occupied by sheep.
(PLEASE NOTE SOME OF THESE OLD UK GOVERNMENT FILE URLS ARE SLOW TO OPEN, AND SOMETIMES YOU MAY HAVE TO CLICK ON MULTIPLE TIMES, PLEASE BE PATIENT, ANY PROBLEMS PLEASE WRITE ME PRIVATELY, AND I WILL TRY AND FIX OR SEND YOU OLD PDF FILE...TSS)
Why Americans, As Well as Koreans, Should Be Worried About Mad Cow Tainted USA Beef By Terry S. Singeltary Sr. May 15, 2008 Straight to the Source
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Concerned Americans against Mad Cow Disease STATEMENT OF SOLIDARITY with Koreans May 13, 2008
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
The Honorable Ms. Kim Min-sun Anti-US Beef Actress Prevails in Court
Saturday, April 10, 2010
TOYOTA VS MAD COW DISEASE USA OIE BSE MRR IMPORT AND EXPORT TRADE WARS
where would have been today, IF INDUSTRY AND TRADE WOULD NOT HAVE RULED OVER POLICY MAKING FOR TSE PRION DISEASE $$$
WHAT ABOUT IATROGENIC ALZHEIMERS ?
IS ALZHEIMERS JUST A LOW DOSE TSE ?
IF the following work would have been pursued 2 decades ago, where would we have been today ???
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
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Government seeking $1T campaign against Alzheimer's
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
De novo induction of amyloid-β deposition in vivo
Molecular Psychiatry advance online publication 4 October 2011; doi: 10.1038/mp.2011.120
amyloid; prion; protein misfolding; disease transmission
right after the first mad cow in the USA was finally _documented_, this came out;
December 20, 2003
Mad Cow Scaremongers
Mad Cow Scaremongers by Terry S. Singeltary Sr. a review of the TSE prion agent 2003-2011
Terry Singletary -- A retired machinist and high school dropout, Terry Singletary suffered the tragic loss of his mother to “sporadic” Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) in 1997. Desperate to find an explanation for his mother’s death, he has devoted himself to the sad and fruitless task of connecting her death to her diet. Various reports confirm that Mrs. Singletary’s life was claimed by the most common sub-type of CJD (one that accounts for 70 percent of “sporadic” cases). Sporadic CJD, unlike its newer “variant,” is not linked to meat.
As the self-appointed international coordinator of CJD Watch, an organization he co-founded with social worker Deborah Oney, Singletary is cited in media reports as an apparent expert on tracking mad cow disease. This despite his lack of formal education and the absence for support from any credible academic, medical or scientific authority. His sensationalist allegations about the safety of U.S. beef have found their way into hundreds of newspapers and broadcasts. Singletary moderates a mad-cow discussion forum run by a vegetarian activist group; his contributions account for more than half the traffic on the “BSE-L” mailing list, which is generally read by real scientists. Animal rights activists and other food-scare artists frequently refer to him as “Dr. Terry Singletary,” apparently an honorary degree as he has yet to finish high school.
Like many activists, Singletary ignores overwhelming epidemiological and laboratory evidence that rules out a connection between sporadic CJD and beef. Relying entirely on shallow circumstantial evidence and frequent repetition of claims which have been publicly refuted as false, he also blindly insists upon a mad-cow with Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and Lou Gehrig’s disease. His specific allegations have been clearly refuted by Centers for Disease Countrol and Prevention scientists in the journal Neurology.
As the self-appointed international coordinator of CJD Watch, an organization he co-founded with social worker Deborah Oney, Singletary is cited in media reports as an apparent expert on tracking mad cow disease. This despite his lack of formal education and the absence for support from any credible academic, medical or scientific authority. His sensationalist allegations about the safety of U.S. beef have found their way into hundreds of newspapers and broadcasts. Singletary moderates a mad-cow discussion forum run by a vegetarian activist group; his contributions account for more than half the traffic on the “BSE-L” mailing list, which is generally read by real scientists. Animal rights activists and other food-scare artists frequently refer to him as “Dr. Terry Singletary,” apparently an honorary degree as he has yet to finish high school.
Like many activists, Singletary ignores overwhelming epidemiological and laboratory evidence that rules out a connection between sporadic CJD and beef. Relying entirely on shallow circumstantial evidence and frequent repetition of claims which have been publicly refuted as false, he also blindly insists upon a mad-cow with Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and Lou Gehrig’s disease. His specific allegations have been clearly refuted by Centers for Disease Countrol and Prevention scientists in the journal Neurology.
sporadic cjd USA via cjd usa prion unit and cjd foundation et al = 1 in 9,000, in age groups of 55 years and older. see ;
Sunday, February 12, 2012
National Prion Disease Pathology Surveillance Center Cases Examined1 (August 19, 2011) including Texas
I lost my mom to the Heidenhain Variant of Creutzfeldt Jakob disease on December 14, 1997.
am I still angry?
YOU BETCHA !!!
p.s. no need to reply I just have to vent occasionally to the TSE Prion Gods...
layperson
Terry S. Singeltary Sr.
P.O. Box 42
Bacliff, Texas USA 77518
flounder9@verizon.net