| You may be wondering what a prion is and why | | | | known as mad cow disease).What is not known |
| you should care. Well, your ears might perk | | | | is if there is a connection to prion disease |
| up a lot if you hear the words - 'Mad Cow | | | | and Alzheimer's disease. We have recognized |
| Disease'. That disease is caused by a | | | | several genetic mutations that can cause |
| transmissible prion.Prion related diseases | | | | Alzheimer's disease and form prions in the |
| have been recognized for years. However, | | | | body of the person with the mutation. |
| until recently we did not realize what caused | | | | However, this does not account for the total |
| them.What we did know about them is that they | | | | number of those with Alzheimer's disease.One |
| caused dementia. People gradually lost their | | | | piece of evidence that is suspicious. It is |
| ability to reason and remember things. We | | | | known that people who habitually eat meat |
| also noticed that there were typical changes | | | | more than four times a week have three times |
| in the brain when looked at during | | | | as much chance of getting Alzheimer's disease |
| autopsy.Prions became famous when Kuru was | | | | than vegetarians. However, at least some of |
| found among the Fore people of New Guinea. In | | | | this statistic could be related to increasing |
| this disease, people would get unsteady gait, | | | | arteriosclerosis (hardening of the arteries) |
| tremors, and slurred speech. The interesting | | | | in those that eat meat.If there is a prion |
| thing was that only women and children seemed | | | | that causes Alzheimer's disease that you can |
| to get the disease.It was finally noticed | | | | get from eating meat, why can't you easily |
| that when a person died, his family would eat | | | | prove or disprove it? Well, here is the |
| him as a way to honor the dead. But only the | | | | problem. The currently know prions cause |
| women and children participated in this | | | | disease fast enough that you can put the |
| practice. Scientists found that by stopping | | | | prions into lab animals like white mice and |
| this practice, the incidence of the disease | | | | they get the disease. However, have you ever |
| suddenly plummeted.Further research in Kuru | | | | seen a mouse live as long as someone who has |
| found that the cause was a protein - not a | | | | Alzheimer's disease? Of course not.We do know |
| bacteria or virus. Furthermore, there was no | | | | that prions come in strains that vary widely |
| way to destroy this protein by filtering or | | | | in the amount of time that it takes to cause |
| cooking. Proteins are formed as a long | | | | the disease. So, here is the big question. |
| molecule that then folds over and over. The | | | | What if there were a prion that caused |
| shape of the folded molecule determines how | | | | disease in humans, but it took longer to |
| it functions.It also determines what enzymes | | | | cause problems than the lifespan of the |
| in the body are needed to break it down when | | | | animal that it came from? For instance, if |
| it is no longer needed. The prion works by | | | | cows live 10 years but it takes 50 years for |
| causing a protein in the brain into the wrong | | | | the disease to show up, you would never - |
| shape. Therefore it does not work and the | | | | ever see the disease in cows even if they |
| brain makes more and more of the chemical - | | | | carried the disease. The same goes for |
| trying to make enough of the protein to fill | | | | chickens, sheep and pigs. You see the |
| the need of the body.The real devastation of | | | | problem?At this point, we do know that one |
| the disease though is that the resulting | | | | fact - that you get only 1/3 as much dementia |
| misshapen chemical does not have enzymes in | | | | if you are a vegetarian. Until more is known |
| the body that can break it down! So the | | | | about what is really in fact safe to eat, |
| protein builds up in large amounts that | | | | vegetarians have a leg up on carnivores on |
| become toxic to brain cells and finally cause | | | | this issue.Dr. Ron is an Emergency Room |
| them to die.Once scientists realized the | | | | physician with over twenty years experience |
| cause and effect of this prion, several other | | | | in the health care field. He often treats |
| known diseases were found that fit this | | | | people for problems with their weight. Come |
| pattern. These included scrapie (found in | | | | to |
| sheep), chronic wasting disease (found in | | | | |
| deer and elk), Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease and | | | | Balanced Diet |
| fatal familial insomnia in humans, and bovine | | | | |
| spongiform encephalopathy in cattle (also | | | | Health now for more great resources. |