Tuesday, February 28, 2012

The 27th Colloque Médecine et Recherche of the Fondation Ipsen in the Alzheimer Disease series: “Proteopathic Seeds and Neurodegenerative Diseases”

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.





2/3





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










Wednesday, July 28, 2010


Atypical prion proteins and IBNC in cattle DEFRA project code SE1796 FOIA Final report






IN CONFIDENCE


BSE ATYPICAL LESION DISTRIBUTION








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.











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 ;
> The Akron, Ohio-based CJD Foundation said the Center for Disease Control revised that number in October of 2004 to about one in 9,000 CJD cases per year in the population group age 55 and older.


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

Friday, February 10, 2012

ApoE-Directed Therapeutics Rapidly Clear β-Amyloid and Reverse Deficits in AD Mouse Models


Science DOI: 10.1126/science.1217697
  • Report

ApoE-Directed Therapeutics Rapidly Clear β-Amyloid and Reverse Deficits in AD Mouse Models

+ Author Affiliations
  1. 1Department of Neurosciences, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA.
  2. 2Department of Neurology, Hope Center for Neurological Disorders, Knight Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA.
  3. 3Emotional Brain Institute, Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research and the New York University School of Medicine, Orangeburg, NY 10962, USA.
  4. 4Center of Neurodegenerative Disease Research, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA.
  1. *To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: gel2@case.edu

Abstract

Alzheimer's disease is associated with impaired clearance of β-amyloid from the brain, a process normally facilitated by apolipoprotein E (ApoE). ApoE expression is transcriptionally induced through the action of the nuclear receptors peroxisome proliferator activated receptor (PPARγ) and liver X receptors (LXR) in coordination with retinoid X receptors (RXR). Oral administration of the RXR agonist, bexarotene, to a murine model of Alzheimer's disease resulted in enhanced clearance of soluble Aβ within hours in an apoE-dependent manner. Aβ plaque area was reduced >50% within just 72 hours. Furthermore, bexarotene stimulated the rapid reversal of cognitive, social, and olfactory deficits and improved neural circuit function. Thus, RXR activation stimulates physiological Aβ clearance mechanisms, resulting in the very rapid reversal of a broad range of Aβ-induced deficits.



  • Received for publication 9 December 2011.
  • Accepted for publication 20 January 2012.
 
 
 
 
TSS

Sunday, February 5, 2012

Cellular prion protein participates in amyloid-β transcytosis across the blood–brain barrier

Brief Communication

Journal of Cerebral Blood Flow & Metabolism , (1 February 2012) | doi:10.1038/jcbfm.2012.7

Cellular prion protein participates in amyloid-β transcytosis across the blood–brain barrier

Thorsten Pflanzner, Benjamin Petsch, Bettina André-Dohmen, Andreas Müller-Schiffmann, Sabrina Tschickardt, Sascha Weggen, Lothar Stitz, Carsten Korth and Claus U Pietrzik



The blood–brain barrier (BBB) facilitates amyloid-β (Aβ) exchange between the blood and the brain. Here, we found that the cellular prion protein (PrPc), a putative receptor implicated in mediating Aβ neurotoxicity in Alzheimer's disease (AD), participates in Aβ transcytosis across the BBB. Using an in vitro BBB model, [125I]-Aβ1−40 transcytosis was reduced by genetic knockout of PrPc or after addition of a competing PrPc-specific antibody. Furthermore, we provide evidence that PrPc is expressed in endothelial cells and, that monomeric Aβ1−40 binds to PrPc. These observations provide new mechanistic insights into the role of PrPc in AD.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION

Supplementary methods

Generation of monoclonal antibody 51.2

Monoclonal antibody 51.2 was generated by immunization of Prnp0/0 mice with SDS-purified sodium phosphotungstic acid (NaPTA)-precipitated Rocky mountain laboratory (RML) strain scrapie brain material (Bueler et al 1992). 250 µl of a 10 % brain homogenate of terminally RML-infected CD1 mice, were precipitated with NaPTA as described elsewhere (Wadsworth et al 2001). The resulting pellet was mixed with SDS-PAGE loading puffer (Roti-load 1, Carl Roth, Karlsruhe, Germany) heated at 95 °C for 10 minutes and separated on a SDS-gel. Gel slices corresponding to molecular weight from 16 to 30 kDa were cut from the gel and homogenized using mortar and liquid nitrogen. Mice were immunized using an equivalent to 250 µl of 10 % homogenate subcutaneously per mouse. Mice were immunized 4-times s.c. and i.p.boostered four days prior to fusion of spleen cells of immunized mice to X63.Ag8.8163 cells as described before by Kohler and Milstein (Kohler and Milstein 1975). Hybridoma supernatants were screened by ELISA using recombinant prion protein expressed in E. coli.
Flow cytometric analysis
Binding of monoclonal antibody 51.2 to prion protein on cell surface was determined using neuroblastoma cell lines Bos2 or ScN2a (Bosque and Prusiner 2000) as described before (Petsch et al 2011). The prion protein specific monoclonal antibody W226 was used as positive control (Petsch et al 2011).
Primary mouse brain capillary endothelial cell (pMBCEC) transwell transport model
Meninges-free forebrains of 6-10 week old C57Bl6 wild-type (WT) and cellular prion protein (PrPc) knock out (KO; Prnp0/0) mice were pooled, mechanically dissociated and, subsequently enzymatically digested (Bueler et al 1992; Pflanzner et al 2011). Endothelial capillaries were separated on a 33% continuous Percoll (GE Healthcare, Munich, Germany) gradient, collected and plated in 24 well transwell dishes (membrane pore size 0.4 µm and growth surface area 31.2 mm2; Greiner Bio-One, Frickenhausen, Germany) coated with collagen IV/fibronectin (Sigma, Schnelldorf, Germany). Hence, the lower abluminal compartment represents the brain side and the upper luminal compartment the blood side. Cultures were maintained in DMEM supplemented with 20% plasma-derived bovine serum (PDS; First Link, Birmingham, UK), 100 U/ml penicillin and 100 µg/ml streptomycin, 2 mM L-glutamine (all from Gibco, Darmstadt, Germany) and 1 ng/ml basic fibroblast growth factor (R&D Sytems, Wiesbaden, Germany) at 37 °C and 5% CO2. After reaching confluence on day 5, the culture medium was removed and serum-free DMEM/Ham’s F12 (Gibco) medium, containing 1 mM L-glutamine, 100 U/ml penicillin, 100 µg/ml streptomycin and 550 nM hydrocortisone (HC; Sigma) was added to induce high transendothelial electrical resistance for 24 hours.
Co-immunoprecipitation, sodium dodecylsulfate-polyacrylamide gel and Western blot analysis
Expression of PrPc and low density lipoprotein receptor-related protein 1 (LRP1) was analyzed in freshly isolated pMBCECs, LRP1-deficient mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs) and brain homogenates of PrPc WT and KO mice in VRL buffer (50 mM HEPES pH 7.5, 100 mM KAc, 5 mM MgCl2, 250 mM sucrose and 1% Triton X-100). Cells were lyzed in NP-40 buffer containing proteinase inhibitors (complete; Roche Applied Science, Mannheim, Germany) and protein concentration was determined by the BCA method (Pierce, Bonn, Germany). For pMBCECs, 98 µg protein representing all capillaries derived from 10 mice, were analyzed.
LRP1 was immunoprecipitated from pMBCEC and LRP1-deficient chinese hamster ovary cell (13-5-1) lysates with rabbit polyclonal anti-LRP1 (1704) antibody at a final dilution of 1:100 in the presence of Protein A Agarose beads (Invitrogen, Darmstadt, Germany) (Pietrzik et al 2002). Prior to immunoprecipitation, 13-5-1 cells were transiently transfected with human PrPc in pcDNA3.1 for 48 hours with FuGeneHD (Roche) transfection reagent according to manufacturer instructions.
Proteins were separated on a 12% tris-glycine gel under denaturing and reducing conditions and transferred to a PVDF membrane (Millipore, Schwalbach, Germany) for 2 hours at 70 V on ice. Membrane was blocked in Tris-buffered saline containing 0.1% Tween 20 (v/v) and 5% milk (w/v). Mouse monoclonal anti-PrPc (1 µg/ml; W226) and anti-α-tubulin (clone DM1A 1:5000; Sigma), rabbit polyclonal anti-LRP1 (1:10000; 1704) and anti-actin (1:1000; Sigma) were used as primary antibodies (Petsch et al 2011). Secondary goat-anti-mouse and goat-anti-rabbitt IgGs linked to horseradish peroxidase (dilution 1:10000; The Jackson Laboratory, Sulzfeld, Germany) were used to visualize protein bands by ECL (Millipore) reagent.

Supplementary results
Generation and binding characteristics of monoclonal antibody 51.2
The monoclonal antibody 51.2 was generated by immunization of Prnp0/0mice using NaPTA-precipitated pathological prion protein that was further separated by SDS-PAGE as described under supplementary methods (Bueler et al 1992). Monoclonal antibody 51.2 reacted with recombinant prion protein in ELISA (data not shown) and detected prion protein in western blotting using brain homogenate of scrapie infected (RML) or control mice (Supplementary figure 1a). Both cellular and pathological prion protein were recognized by the monoclonal antibody 51.2, displaying the characteristic banding pattern in western blotting, staining the three glycoforms (non-, mono- and di-glycosylated prion protein) and C2-fragment of the prion protein (Supplementary figure 1a) (Chen et al 1995). The characteristic “down-shift” of the three glycoforms of the pathological prion protein PrPsc after proteinase K digestion strongly supports the specificity of the monoclonal antibody 51.2 for the prion protein.
The epitope of monoclonal antibody 51.2 was determined using a membrane-bound peptide library as described before (Petsch et al 2011), and identified to be a linear epitope located between amino acids (aa) 93-101 comprising the amino acid sequence GGTHNQWNK of the prion protein (numbering of aa referring to the sequence of hamster prion protein). Interestingly, the 51.2 epitope overlaps with the epitope of the monoclonal antibody 6D11 ( aa 93-110), an antibody that has previously been described to block the interaction between Aβ42 oligomers and PrPc (Lauren et al 2009).
The binding of monoclonal antibody 51.2 to prion protein on the surface of cells was demonstrated using Bos2 and ScN2a cells (Supplementary figure 1b (Bos 2) and 1c (ScN2a cells)). Unstained cells or cells stained with secondary antibody alone did not result in positive signals. In contrast thereto, cells stained with monoclonal antibody 51.2 or prion protein specific control antibody W226 both resulted in staining of distinct populations of cells (Petsch et al 2011), both in Bos2 or ScN2a cells, demonstrating the capacity of monoclonal antibody 51.2 to bind to the prion protein on the surface of both infected and non-infected prion protein expressing cells.

Supplementary references

Titles and legends to supplementary figures
Supplementary Figure 1 The monoclonal antibody (Ab) 51.2 recognizes the prion protein in western blotting and on the surface of neuroblastoma cells.(a) Brain homogenate of scrapie infected (RML: +) and control mice (RML: -) were separated by SDS-PAGE and subsequently used for western blotting. Samples of brain homogenates were digested with proteinase K (PK: +) to eliminate cellular prion protein PrPc. Banding pattern in undigested scrapie-infected brain homogenate corresponds to di-, mono-, non-glycosylated or C2-fragment of prion protein (Chen et al 1995). (b and c) Binding of monoclonal antibody 51.2 to prion protein on the surface of neuroblastoma cell line Bos2 (b) or ScN2a (c) by flow cytometric analysis. Surface staining of PrPc by mAb 51.2 is demonstrated by shift of negative population in negative controls (unstained and secondary antibody (sec control)) from lower left quadrant to upper left quadrant using mAb 51.2 or W226.
Supplementary figure 1
snip...end...TSS



Wednesday, January 18, 2012


Government seeking $1T campaign against Alzheimer's




TSS

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Government seeking $1T campaign against Alzheimer's

January 17, 2012 12:57 PM
 
 
 
Gov't wants Alzheimer's treatment that works by 2025

By CBS News Staff

(CBS/AP) By 2025, Scientists need to develop an effective treatment for Alzheimer's disease, says the U.S. Government. The Obama administration announced today a plan for the government to step in and help find a way to treat and prevent the deadly neurological disease.

PICTURES: Alzheimer's disease: 7 things that raise your risk

The announcement of the nation's first National Alzheimer's Plan is not a moment too soon. An estimated 5.4 million Americans currently have the disease, but research suggests that by 2050, that number may nearly triple to 16 million Americans living with the disease - costing $1 trillion in medical and nursing home expenditures.

The government is setting what it calls an ambitious goal for progress in tackling the disease. The plan doesn't provide details of how to fund the necessary research to meet that target date. Today's treatments only temporarily ease some dementia symptoms, and work to find better ones has been frustratingly slow.
 
 
 
A committee of Alzheimer's experts begins a two-day meeting Tuesday to help advise the government on how to finalize the plan.

Families have been "reminding us of the enormity of our task, perhaps most important the meaningfulness of it," said the committee's chair, Dr. Ron Petersen, an Alzheimer's specialist at the Mayo Clinic.

But hanging over the meeting is the reality of a budget crunch. It's not clear how much money the federal government will be able to devote to Alzheimer's, and states have seen their Alzheimer's budgets cut.

"We're not going to fix this without substantial resources," said David Hoffman of the New York State Department of Health, who oversees that state's Alzheimer's programs. "In New York, we're hanging on by our nails."

Alzheimer's disease is the sixth leading cause of death in the U.S., according to the CDC's latest report, taking more than 83,000 lives this past year.
 
 
 
The national plan is supposed to tackle both the medical and social aspects of dementia, and advocacy groups had urged that it set a deadline for progress.

One of the draft's goals it to improve the timely diagnosis for the disease. A recent report found as many as half of today's Alzheimer's sufferers haven't been formally diagnosed, in part because of stigma and the belief that nothing can be done. Symptomatic treatment aside, a diagnosis lets families plan, and catching the disease earlier would be crucial if scientists ever find ways to slow the disease's progress.

Another goal of the plan is to improve support and training for families so they know what resources are available for patients and what to expect as dementia worsens. A caregiver-training program in New York has shown that families taught how to handle common dementia problems, and given support, are able to keep their loved ones at home for longer. Hoffman said such training programs are far cheaper than nursing homes.

Alzheimer's sufferers gradually lose the ability to do the simplest activities of daily life and can survive that way for a decade or more. A recent study suggests memory loss from aging could start as early as 45, HealthPop reported.

In meetings around the country last summer and fall, families urged federal health officials to make sure the national plan addresses how to help patients live their last years at home without ruining their caregivers' own health and finances.

According to a study in the Lancet Neurology, simple lifestyle changes may go a long way in staving off Alzheimer's disease. The study found that by reducing risk factors - such as obesity and blood pressure - by 25 percent, it could mean 3 million fewer cases of Alzheimer's worldwide, HealthPop reported.

Here are 7 ways to reduce your risk for Alzheimer's disease:

 
 
 
Government seeking $1T campaign against Alzheimer's



Greetings,
 
 
 
I was so saddened by this video, and then I became angry as hell. our family has been hit with not only Alzheimer’s, but also the Heidenhain Variant Creutzfeldt Jakob disease. These Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies have been spreading for decades, and thanks to Corporate interest, they were all simply lied about and or just swept under the rug. now look where we are, and yes, I believe that science has shown that Alzheimer’s disease is transmissible. NOW, think why the explosion of Alzheimer’s disease victims?


IATROGENIC !!!
 
 
 
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.
 
 
 
93/01.05/4.1tss
 
 
 
 
 
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/YdeStss
 
 
 
92/11.4/1.2
 
 
 
 
 
 
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


 
 
 
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
 
 
 
PrioNet Canada researchers in Vancouver confirm prion-like properties in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS)

Researchers’ Discovery May Revolutionize Treatment of ALS
 
 
 


Friday, August 13, 2010
 
 
 
Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) biannual update 13 August 2010 UK Iatrogenic CJD Incidents Report
 
 
 
 
 
 
Tuesday, March 29, 2011

TRANSMISSIBLE SPONGIFORM ENCEPHALOPATHY EXPOSURE SPREADING VIA HOSPITALS AND SURGICAL PROCEDURES AROUND THE GLOBE

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
TSS