Brain infection starts in the gutDiagnosis of deadly brain conditions could be helped by new researc
Brain infection starts in the gut
Diagnosis of deadly brain conditions could be helped by new research from the Roslin Institute and University of Manchester, showing how the infectious proteins that cause the disease spread.
A study reveals how the proteins - called prions - spread from the gut to the brain after a person or animal has eaten contaminated meat.
The findings could aid earlier diagnosis of prion diseases such as variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in man, scrapie in sheep and goats, and chronic wasting disease in deer and elk.
Image credit: Roslin Institute
Thu, 13 Aug 2015 10:22:12
