Mad cow disease (Bovine spongiform encephalopathy / BSE) is a disease caused by new infectious material known and called prions. BSE attacks the cow and the signs of BSE that was recently discovered in a cow in Washington, the United States that caused panic around the world.
Prion until now regarded as the object responsible for encephalopathy incidence of mad cow disease (BSE), Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD), Gerstmann-Straussler syndrome and similar diseases Kuru disease caused paralysis in certain families. All have the same symptoms of brain tissue degenerate into a hollow object? small hole like a foam or sponge rubber and is therefore referred to as spongiform encephalopathy, it is consistent with limb movement disorder / paralysis that occurs more and more severe and eventually cause death.
World health is always confronted with new phenomena whenever science and technology had revealed something new. Prion protein (PrP) or the so-called prion is a protein derived from animal brain tissue affected by inflammatory disease of the brain is not known why the so-called bovine spongiform encephalopathy. Prions are not living a full body like bacteria, viruses or protozoa. Prions can be distinguished from a virus or viroid because they do not have nucleic acids and therefore he was resistant to all procedures aimed at changing or menghidrolisa nucleic acids including the protease enzyme, ultraviolet light, radiation and various chemicals such as detergents, substances that cause denaturation of proteins such as disinfectant or heating / boiling. But prions have an amazing ability to reproduce themselves through a mechanism that until now unknown.
Actually, the structure of prion gene have been found, and is known also that in the infected animals and in experimental prion inoculation there will be accumulation of prions in brain tissue. Prion allegedly spread through and in the neural network. The gap of knowledge about molecular biology and pathogenesis of prion diseases it causes, is still large and intensive research being done to minimize the kesejangan it.