Stanley Prusiner, PhD, professor of neurology and biochemistry at the University of California School of Medicine, San Francisco, was awarded the 1997 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his pioneering research on prions that began in 1972. Dr Prusiner discovered that prion diseases are caused by a unique pathogen that differs from other known bacteria and viruses.
Pathogens can remain undetected and linger in the body for many years without causing symptoms.
They are believed to be responsible for both transmissible and inherited disorders, cause sporadic disease, and contribute to neurodegenerative diseases that are prevalent in humans. The Internet offers excellent resources to help increase understanding of the disease, transmission modes, and prevention strategies. Several excellent overviews of the disease, how it is spread, and its development are available online. Sections identified as Discovery of Prion Proteins, Genetic Linkage of TSE Traits to the Prion Protein Gene, Hypotheses on the Nature of the Infectious Agent, Pathology and Etiology of TSEs, and Acknowledgments and Bibliography are available. Statistics on fatalities associated with CJD and press releases about BSE and CJD are available.