Virus May Cause Prion Diseases

U.S. researchers say a virus could be the cause of prion diseases, including mad cow and Creutzfeldt-Jakob diseases.

The study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, said the same slow-acting viruses most likely also cause chronic wasting disease, the fatal brain disease that has infected wild deer in Wisconsin and other states, the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reported.

The newspaper said the new research used electron microscopy to examine cell cultures from mice infected with scrapie and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. They found a number of small virus-like particles, which induced brain disease when injected into hamsters.

Lead author Laura Manuelidis, a professor of neurobiology at Yale University Medical School, said the virus theory could lead to new ways to test for mad cow disease and chronic wasting disease.