Do Prions Exist?, page 1

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Human Diseases

Kuru: Kuru is an obscure disease that was seen only among the Fore highlanders of New Guinea. This strange, fatal disease was marked by ataxia (loss of coordination) and often later by dementia. The affected individuals acquired kuru through ritual cannibalism; the Fore tribe had honored their dead by eating their brains.6 Because men in the tribe did not partake in the practice, the disease was almost exclusively found in women and young children. The disease annually afflicted about 1% of the total Fore population of about 30,000, some 300 cases per year. In the worst hit Fore settlements the incidence reached an astonishing 5% to 10%.

For those stricken with the disease, death came cruelly. The victims lost the ability to swallow and starved, or succumbed before starvation to pneumonia or to the deep, gangrenous bedsores they developed lying in their own urine or excrement.2 Fortunately, the practice of cannibalism in New Guinea has stopped, and kuru has virtually disappeared.

Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD): A rare but deadly infectious human encephalopathy with an incidence of one to two cases per million people worldwide, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease is uniformly fatal, with 90% of patients dying within the first year. CJD was first described in the early 1920s and classified with other degenerative brain diseases; its infectious nature was not established until 1968.

Clinically, the disease is manifested by a rapidly progressive dementia with associated neurological deficits and ataxia.7 Dementia advances rapidly, vision is impaired and muscle twitching becomes more obvious. Death occurs soon after. Histological examination of the brain at autopsy shows patchy spongiform changes in the cerebral hemispheres and a considerable loss of nerve cells in the occipital cortex. Fortunately, a new test is available which may be useful for diagnosing CJD when symptoms suggest that illness. The test will be especially helpful in distinguishing CJD from Alzheimer’s disease.

Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease occurs sporadically worldwide. It typically strikes those in their 60s. About 10%–15% of cases are inherited. Unfortunately, a small number of cases are spread during the process of treating another medical problem. The disease has apparently been transmitted by corneal transplantation, implantation of dura mater or electrodes in the brain, use of contaminated surgical instruments and injection of growth hormone derived from human pituitary glands.6 It has also been suggested that CJD might be transmitted by blood transfusion. Recently, amid mounting concern, blood bank personnel began asking donors if anyone in their family ever suffered from this brain disorder."

OK, so I lied. Yes Prions are real............Bush is hiding the truth from the public to keep panic down. All meat is tained............