New models advance the study of deadly human prion diseases

(Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research) By directly altering the gene coding for the prion protein, Whitehead Institute researchers have created mouse models of two neurodegenerative prion diseases, each of which manifests in different regions of the brain. These new models for fatal familial insomnia and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease accurately reflect the distinct patterns of destruction caused by the these diseases in humans. Remarkably, as different as each disease is, they both spontaneously generate infectious prions.
Source: EurekAlert! - Medicine and Health - Category: Global & Universal Source Type: news