PRION DISEASE Meaning and
Definition
-
Prion disease, also known as transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE), is a rare and fatal neurodegenerative disorder that affects both humans and animals. It is caused by the accumulation of abnormal or misfolded prion proteins in the brain, leading to a degeneration of brain tissue and subsequent neurological symptoms.
Prions, which are abnormal forms of a normal cellular protein, have the peculiar ability to induce a misfolding of other normal prion proteins. This process perpetuates the formation of abnormal prion aggregates, and they can spread throughout the brain, disrupting normal cellular functions.
Prion diseases can manifest in various forms, such as Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD), variant CJD, Gerstmann-Sträussler-Scheinker syndrome, fatal familial insomnia, and kuru. Each form of prion disease presents with distinct clinical features, symptoms, and disease progression.
The symptoms of prion disease typically include rapidly progressive dementia, personality changes, hallucinations, impaired coordination, muscle stiffness, and difficulty in walking and talking. As the disease progresses, affected individuals may exhibit severe cognitive decline, muscle wasting, and eventually become bedridden. Prion diseases often lead to a complete loss of motor control and eventual death, usually within months or a few years after the onset of symptoms.
Prion diseases can be transmitted through contaminated tissue or exposure to infected individuals, consuming contaminated meat, or inheriting the abnormal prion protein from a parent. Unfortunately, there is currently no cure for prion diseases, and treatment mainly focuses on providing supportive care to manage symptoms and improve the quality of life for affected individuals.
Common Misspellings for PRION DISEASE
- orion disease
- lrion disease
- -rion disease
- 0rion disease
- peion disease
- pdion disease
- pfion disease
- ption disease
- p5ion disease
- p4ion disease
- pruon disease
- prjon disease
- prkon disease
- proon disease
- pr9on disease
- pr8on disease
- priin disease
- prikn disease
- priln disease
- pripn disease
Etymology of PRION DISEASE
The word "prion disease" is a compound word consisting of two elements: "prion" and "disease".
The term "prion" was coined in 1982 by the American neurologist Stanley B. Prusiner, who discovered and isolated the infectious agent responsible for a group of neurodegenerative diseases. The word "prion" is derived from the words "proteinaceous" and "infectious".
The word "disease" comes from the Old French word "desaise" which means "lack of ease". It evolved from the Latin word "dis-" meaning "lack of" and "aedere" meaning "to eat". Originally, "disease" referred to a condition that caused physical discomfort or pain, but its meaning expanded to include various disorders and illnesses.
Similar spelling words for PRION DISEASE
- Borna Disease,
- mosquito-borne disease,
- Brown-Sequard's disease,
- blood-borne disease,
- peyronie\'s disease,
- brain disease,
- tick-borne disease,
- vector-borne disease.
