'New' vCJD case warning
Thursday, 03 Jan 2008 13:47
Scientists say the non-identical case of vCJD case should not cause alarm
Science In Focus
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A case of vCJD that is non-identical to previous cases has raised the possibility that a new form of mad cow disease could have arisen.
So far 160 people have died from variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD), all of whom had the MM variant of the gene that makes prions - the proteins that become altered by the disease and clog up the brain.
However in a recent similar but not identical case in a 39-year-old woman, the disease resulted from the VV variant of the gene, according to a report in the New Scientist.
Researchers are now considering whether this case is a new form of vCJD, resulting from exposure to BSE-infected beef, or whether it is a rare form of 'sporadic' CJD, which occurs purely by chance.
If it is a new form then it could signal a new wave of cases in individuals who carry the VV variant of the gene.
But researchers who analysed the woman's brain said there are similarities with MM cases of vCJD and said there is no cause for alarm yet.
"The final conclusion remains open," said Simon Mead of the Medical Research Council's Prion Unit at University College London.
"It is waving the flag for neurologists to watch for other cases."
Chris Higgins, chairman of the UK government's spongiform encephalopathy advisory committee, added: "The consensus is that it's more likely sporadic, but we can't conclude either way until further experiments are done."