Infection spreads out from the eyes of 'prion' which destroys the brain

by Amanda Dalbjörn

It is clear from the latest research that infectious agents consisting of proteins called " prions " that can also destroy the brain spread from the eyes of infected people.

Prion Seeds Distribute throughout the Eyes of Sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease Patients | mBio
https://mbio.asm.org/content/9/6/e02095-18

Brain-Destroying Prions Also Spread Through Victims' Eyes
https://gizmodo.com/brain-destroying-prions-also-spread-through-victims-eye-1830545293

Sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (sCJD) is the most common disease caused by human beings "diseases caused by prions". In a research paper published in the open journal mBio, we were conducting surveys on 11 sCJD patients, and prions were detected from the eyes of all patients. The findings are the latest ones showing that fatal diseases such as sCJD may spread the eye as an infection route.

by Joel Staveley

Infectious agent prions are responsible for several diseases such as Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD). Familial Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, which occurs as a result of mutation in the family, the pathogenic routes vary, but most commonly it seems that prions are naturally occurring unlike sCJD. Although prion is a harmless protein at normal times, it is harmful to the human body by mutating to a protein with an abnormal folded structure, and this mutation also has the property that this mutation also spreads to surrounding proteins. Furthermore, since prions are "infectious agents" that can infect animals, animals, people, and people, they also have the fear of infecting this symptom.

Diseases caused by prions (prion diseases) cause dementia and muscle weakness, but in most cases it takes years to decades to develop disease. Although it is long until onset, it is a terrible illness that it usually dies after several months of death. The most famous example of prion diseases being transmitted from person to person is the custom of eating the brains of deceased loved ones, which was done in some tribes of Papua New Guinea, from the custom of prion The onset of the disease has continued. In addition, when we stopped the habit of eating the brain in the 1960 's, infected people seem to have decreased.

It was thought that corneal transplantation is the main cause that CJD, which is a representative of prion disease, spreads so far. As a result, many researchers thought that Prion 's major hiding place was an eye. The reason is that many patients with CJD have abnormality in visual acuity, and past research has revealed that prions latent in the retina and optic nerve. However, only two cases of infection with CJD by corneal transplantation have been reported so far, it seems that there were many unclear points in relation between eyes and prion.

by Tess

Also, for diagnosis of CJD, the method of detecting prions using a cerebrospinal fluid test called "RT - QuIC" has been standards so far. In RT - QuIC, fluorescent dyes are used to directly detect abnormal folded structure proteins from cerebrospinal fluid samples. Although its accuracy is as high as 90% or more, it has the disadvantage of invasive inspection method.

However, in the latest research, we have succeeded in detecting prions in the eyes using a method different from RT-QuIC. The research group has examined ocular tissue samples donated from eleven people who died of sCJD and successfully detected high levels of prions from the retina of all eleven in a unique way. Furthermore, we discovered that prions were scattered not only in the retina but also in the cornea and the crystalline lens, and even in the muscles around the eyes. According to the research group, it was the first time that the research that was announced this time will detect prions not only in the retina but in other parts around the eyes.

Christian Siguldson, a pathologist at the University of California at San Diego, who studied at the University of California, said the prion is at risk for contact infection, "surgeons have unnoticed the contamination of equipment used for surgical operations with prions and there is a possibility, "said pointed out it is. Since prions can survive in environments that can kill bacteria and viruses such as radiation and formaldehyde, ophthalmologists need to use disposable tools or to treat instruments with high heat about.

by rawpixel

According to the research group, it is also clear that the levels of prions detected in the retina are equivalent to those found in the brain. Therefore, it is possible to replace the diagnosis of CJD, which had been dependent on examination using cerebrospinal fluid, with noninvasive examination so far.