Uploaded October 2019 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
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Some weeks ago, several articles where released which described "zombie" deer. Although it is obvious that these deer are not rotten creatures which are craving for flesh, the underlying disease is quite interesting. These deer suffer from chronic wasting disease or CWD, a contagious neurological disease. Symptoms of this disease are weight loss, excessive drinking, blank facial expressions and repetitive walking. When brain tissue obtained at autopsy is examined under a microscope, we can observe many tiny holes causing it to appear like a sponge.
CWD is a so called transmissible spongiform encephalopathy or TSE. It is wildly believed that TSEs are caused by prions. Prions are infectious proteins which normally arise from the conversion of Prp into PrpSc. Although Prp is expressed in mammals it does not cause any damages. However, after Prp is converted into PrpSc, it becomes heat-resistant and cannot be cleared by the cell. As a result, the protein accumulates inside the brain.
Since most prion diseases (including Scrapie in sheep, mad cow disease in cattle and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in humans) share a common underlying pathology, the disease can often be transmitted from one species to another through the consumption of meat. In the last century, this lead to several local epidemics. In some tribes in Papua New Guinea, the consumption of body parts of deceased family members during funerals, lead to a fatal disease named Kuru. After prions were discovered, these traditions were discarded and the Kuru outbreak soon stopped afterwards.
During the 1990s, several people acquired Creutzfeldt-Jakob-Disease in the United Kingdom. This was the result from feeding cattle with meat-and-bone meals. Prion diseases cannot be cured and might be involved in other diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease.
Music:
Intro:
Light Sting by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/...)
Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-...
Artist: incompetech.com
Transitions:
Light Thought var 3 by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/...)
Artist: incompetech.com
About Clemens Steinek:
CLEMENS STEINEK is a postgraduate student/youtuber (LifeLabLearner) who is currently conducting stem cell research in Germany.
Subscribe for more awesome biomedical research:
bit.ly/2SRMqhC
Some weeks ago, several articles where released which described "zombie" deer. Although it is obvious that these deer are not rotten creatures which are craving for flesh, the underlying disease is quite interesting. These deer suffer from chronic wasting disease or CWD, a contagious neurological disease. Symptoms of this disease are weight loss, excessive drinking, blank facial expressions and repetitive walking. When brain tissue obtained at autopsy is examined under a microscope, we can observe many tiny holes causing it to appear like a sponge.
CWD is a so called transmissible spongiform encephalopathy or TSE. It is wildly believed that TSEs are caused by prions. Prions are infectious proteins which normally arise from the conversion of Prp into PrpSc. Although Prp is expressed in mammals it does not cause any damages. However, after Prp is converted into PrpSc, it becomes heat-resistant and cannot be cleared by the cell. As a result, the protein accumulates inside the brain.
Since most prion diseases (including Scrapie in sheep, mad cow disease in cattle and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in humans) share a common underlying pathology, the disease can often be transmitted from one species to another through the consumption of meat. In the last century, this lead to several local epidemics. In some tribes in Papua New Guinea, the consumption of body parts of deceased family members during funerals, lead to a fatal disease named Kuru. After prions were discovered, these traditions were discarded and the Kuru outbreak soon stopped afterwards.
During the 1990s, several people acquired Creutzfeldt-Jakob-Disease in the United Kingdom. This was the result from feeding cattle with meat-and-bone meals. Prion diseases cannot be cured and might be involved in other diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease.
Music:
Intro:
Light Sting by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/...)
Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-...
Artist: incompetech.com
Transitions:
Light Thought var 3 by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/...)
Artist: incompetech.com
About Clemens Steinek:
CLEMENS STEINEK is a postgraduate student/youtuber (LifeLabLearner) who is currently conducting stem cell research in Germany.
