Open AccessSpongiform encephalopathies and prions: An overview of pathology and disease mechanisms
Author(s) -
Fairbairn D.W.,
Thwaits R.N.,
Holyoak G.R.,
O'Neill K.L.
Publication year - 1994
Publication title -
fems microbiology letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.899
H-Index - 151
eISSN - 1574-6968
pISSN - 0378-1097
DOI - 10.1111/j.1574-6968.1994.tb07230.x
Subject(s) - disease , infectious agent , context (archaeology) , prion protein , virology , biology , etiology , neurodegeneration , infectious disease (medical specialty) , medicine , pathology , paleontology
The etiology of spongiform encephalopathies has been sharply contested for decades. At the heart of the issue is the question of disease origin: Are prion diseases representative of primary neurodegenerative genetic disorders, or are they bona fide infectious diseases? This article provides a brief outline of the progress made in the elucidation of prion disease mechanisms in the context of pathological support of the ‘protein only’ hypothesis. The answer to the above question appears to be that spongiform encephalopathies are uniquely both infectious and genetic neurodegenerative diseases.