In article <2oj0tr$j3g at bambi.zdv.uni-mainz.de>,
dauscher at mzdmza.zdv.uni-mainz.de wrote:
> Can anyone tell me, whether the number of Creutzfeld-Jacob-Patients
> in the European Countries has been rising in the last few years?
>> Thanks in advance
>> Peter
>> Peter Dauscher
> Universitaet Mainz, Germany
>> email: dauscher at mzdmza.zdv.uni-mainz.de
Dear Peter,
I have been out of the prion field for a couple of years.
However, since mutations in the prion gene have been discovered by many
groups, as well as associated polymorphisms that may be predisposing
factors - these are being used to diagnose the disease (together with the
neuropathology).
Since it is very easy to diagnose by performing pcr on DNA and find these
mutations - the DETECTION of this disease has increased, with a
corresponding increase in the number of cases reported.
This has hit a high note in England especially because of the very great
incidence of mad-cow disease (BSE - bovine spongiform encephalopathy) which
has a very similar neuropathology to CJD.
We in fact published a paper (collinge et. al. in lancet) showing that some
alzheimer cases where in fact GSS (Gerstmann-Straussler syndrome) or CJD.
Hope this helps.
Martin Leach
--
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