Prions

Certain types of prions (pronounced ā€œPREE – onsā€) can cause a neurodegenerative disease. Ā Prions are not living things, as we think of bacteria and viruses, which can replicate.

We all have prions in our body that perform normal functions. However, when we ingest a misfolded form of a prion, it can cause normally-folded prion protein to misfold. When enough of these misfiled prions build-up in our nervous tissues, especially the brain, they can cause a disease calledĀ TransmissibleĀ Spongiform Encephalopathies (TSEs).Ā 

 

RECOMMENDED RESOURCES:

The Bad Bug Book (US Food and Drug Administration)

Prion Diseases (US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)