Zakatenia subklinicze w chorobach PrionowychSubclinical infections in prion diseases

摘要

Despite many years of painstaking research prion diseases are not fully understood while the mechanism of their pathogenesis is still a challenge. The initial failure in interspecies transmission of these diseases was explained by the existence of an effective species barrier. However, evaluation of successful infection was solely based on clinical examination (presence of CNS signs). Early detection of prion infections with increased diagnostic sensitivity was possible due to improved diagnostic methods and the use of the presence of PrPSc as the specific marker of prion diseases. It turned out that that despite the lack of a clinical phase after infection with the agent causing transmissible spongiform encephalopathy both in humans and animals, infectivity was growing and it was possible to transmit the disease in further passages into healthy individuals resulting in the development of clinical infection and a fatal outcome. Therefore it can be concluded that apparently healthy humans and animals subclinically infected with prion diseases pose a risk of transmission comparable to clinically affected ones.