New economic scenario makes Indians vulnerable to CJD: Prusiner

Chennai, Feb 17 (UNI) The changing economic scenario and the pressure it exerts on the people of this nation can make them prone to a group of dementing diseases like 'Kuru', 'Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease' (CJD) and Fatal Familial Insomnia (FFI), eminent Neuroscientist and Nobel Prize winner Prof Stanley B Prusiner said today.

Addressing a press conference here, on the sidelines of a seminar, Prof Prusiner said though fundamental chemistry was yet to ascertain the causative factors of these dementing diseases, it has been cited that the proteinacious infective particle, was the causative factor for these diseases to occur.

Citing his ''Prion'' research that brought to limelight the new mechanism in disease production, he said the ''mishaped proteins'' in the human brain cells, can expand and spread to healthy proteins, resulting in these diseases.

Referring to the 'Mad Cow' disiease that ravaged the UK in the mid 90s, he said the inclusion of sheep offal in the feeds for cattle and its transmission to humans, created ripples throughout the world. However, it resulted in greater caution and more research in this direction.

He called upon the scientific community to take-up more research work and come out with modern methods of treatment to prevent further increase in the number of patients with these diseases.

The high incidents Alzheimer's Disease (AD) stimulated research in understanding the neurophysiology of AD and other neurodegenerative disorders, Prof Prusineer said.

Specific drugs which are in the pipeline for the ''Prion'' disease would aim to target the phase of conformational change of the ''Prion'' particle and hopefully provide a positive step towards the management of the disease, he added.

UNI