Prions? CJD/BSE Connection...

[Jeff Bernhard]

Shaun D. Carstairs (shaunc at alumnae.caltech.edu) wrote:
: >  The likelihood of getting CJD from bovine prions, BTW, is
: >also highly unlikely because of the significant sequence
: >differences between the human and bovine forms (see Prosiner's
: >work).
: 
: Again, not true.  Reference William N. Kelley's _Textbook of Internal
: Medicine_ (2nd edition), "Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease," p. 2219:
: 
: "Transmission can be effected by oral or parenteral inoculation but is
: most efficient by intracerebral routes.  The incubation period is dependent
: on the dose and route of inoculation and host genetics and may theoretically
: exceed the life-span of the host."
: 
: As you stated, the prions will _most likely_ not be absorbed from the
: small intestine.  However, on rare occasions this is not the case: 
: macromolecular pinocytosis, while rare beyond the neonatal period, can
: occasionally occur, as can direct molecular entry into the bloodstream
: through small ulcerations in the intestinal mucosa.  Thus oral transmission
: of CJD, while rare, is possible.

Okay, I'm not in the field (though brain science has always been of
interest to me), but can anyone give me the history of CJD: Who identified
it, how (case histories) it was first identified, and so on? I realize
this group is largely composed of knowledgible folks who may take offense
as my use and request of the bandwith here, but I'd be very appreciative.
--
     Jeffrey Bernhard			    Harris Computer Systems Corp.
Jeff.Bernhard at mail.hcsc.com       Voice: (954) 973-5496     Fax: (954) 977-5580
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