For full functionality, it is necessary to enable JavaScript. Here are instructions how to enable JavaScript in your web browser.

Welcome to Medical News Today

Healthline Media, Inc. would like to process and share personal data (e.g., mobile ad id) and data about your use of our site (e.g., content interests) with our third party partners (see a current list) using cookies and similar automatic collection tools in order to a) personalize content and/or offers on our site or other sites, b) communicate with you upon request, and/or c) for additional reasons upon notice and, when applicable, with your consent.

Healthline Media, Inc. is based in and operates this site from the United States. Any data you provide will be primarily stored and processed in the United States, pursuant to the laws of the United States, which may provide lesser privacy protections than European Economic Area countries.

By clicking “accept” below, you acknowledge and grant your consent for these activities unless and until you withdraw your consent using our rights request form. Learn more in our Privacy Policy.

Illness can make BSE prions appear in more organs than originally thought

Published Sunday 23 January 2005 Published Sun 23 Jan 2005

Adapted Media Release

Prions that transmit BSE (mad cow disease) can appear in more organs than were originally thought if the infected animal has an inflammatory disease. Scientists have thought that prions would only appear in the brain, spinal cord, spleen and lymph tissue of an infected animal - meaning, even if you eat some other part of that animal you will never develop the human vCJD.

However, tests have shown that mice infected with the prion which also had an inflammatory disease had the prions in other organs. If what seems to be the case with mice is also the case with livestock animals, one wonders whether the current measures to stop the spread of BSE are appropriate.

You can read about this study in the journal Science.

In this latest study, scientists administered prions to mice with five inflammatory diseases of the kidney, pancreas or liver. In all cases, chronic lymphocytic inflammation enabled prion accumulation in otherwise prion-free organs.

Related coverage

Using community choirs to boost well-being Loneliness is a significant and growing problem. A recent study investigates the effect of belonging to a community choir on well-being in older adults. Read now

Vitamin D, fish oil supplements of little benefit to heart health Two large new clinical trials have examined the benefits of vitamin D and fish oil supplements for staving off heart disease and cancer. Read now

Hot baths reduce inflammation, improve glucose metabolism Taking regular hot baths may benefit individuals who are not able to exercise by reducing chronic inflammation and improve glucose metabolism. Read now

Can multitasking boost rather than hinder performance? Newly published research suggests that whether we perceive one or several activities as multitasking can have an impact on our performance. Read now

Could blue light reduce blood pressure? According to recent findings, exposing the body to blue light could lower high blood pressure as effectively as taking hypertension medication. Read now

email email

CJD / vCJD / Mad Cow Disease

APA
Nordqvist, C. (2005, January 23). "Illness can make BSE prions appear in more organs than originally thought." Medical News Today. Retrieved from
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/19169.php.

Please note: If no author information is provided, the source is cited instead.