Big science news this week, Stanley Prusiner's lab at UCSF (he won Nobel prize 1997 for discovery of prions) just published two big papers.
First the discovery of α-synuclein prions and that they cause multiple system atrophy (MSA):
Evidence for α-synuclein prions causing multiple system atrophy in humans with parkinsonism
Second just like BSE ("mad cow") and CJD it seems that MSA is potentially transmissible:
Propagation of prions causing synucleinopathies in cultured cells
His lab is finding evidence that different prions cause neurodegenerative diseases such as progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) and even Parkinson's disease (PD).
Additional info here:
New Type of Prion May Cause, Transmit Neurodegeneration
First the discovery of α-synuclein prions and that they cause multiple system atrophy (MSA):
Evidence for α-synuclein prions causing multiple system atrophy in humans with parkinsonism
Second just like BSE ("mad cow") and CJD it seems that MSA is potentially transmissible:
Propagation of prions causing synucleinopathies in cultured cells
His lab is finding evidence that different prions cause neurodegenerative diseases such as progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) and even Parkinson's disease (PD).
Additional info here:
New Type of Prion May Cause, Transmit Neurodegeneration
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