Prions-Infectious Pathogens Causing the Spongiform Encephalopathies

摘要

For more than 4 decades, scientists have been trying to understand the structure of the unusual infectious agent causing scrapie. Sheep and goats develop scrapie many months or even years after inoculation or exposure. Scrapie is characterized by loss of coordination and difficulty in walking, which are typical signs of cerebellar syndrome. The unexpected results of experiments designed to probe the structure of the scrapie agent have continued to present a increasingly fasinating puzzle.