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Nature Medicine 9, 1463 - 1464 (2003)
doi:10.1038/nm1203-1463

Prion disease: bridging the spleen-nerve gap

Neil A Mabbott1 & Moira E Bruce1

  1. Neil A. Mabbott and Moira E. Bruce are at the Institute for Animal Health, Ogston Building, West Mains Road, Edinburgh EH9 3JF, UK. e-mail: neil.mabbott@bbsrc.ac.uk or e-mail: moira.bruce@bbsrc.ac.uk


Infection of tissues outside the nervous system occurs in a number of prion diseases, but sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in humans has not been considered one of them. A clinical study of Swiss patients with sporadic disease reconsiders this assumption, and a second study examines the spread of infection between follicular dendritic cells and nerves.


Two recent studies from Adriano Aguzzi's laboratory provide new insights into the biology of transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs, or prion diseases). In the 30 October issue of Nature, Prinz et al.1 show that manipulations of the architecture of lymphoid tissues can influence the progression of TSEs.

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REFERENCE
Prion Diseases
Nature Encyclopaedia of Life Sciences

REVIEWS
PRIONS: HEALTH SCARE AND BIOLOGICAL CHALLENGE
Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology Review Article (01 Feb 2001)

NEWS AND VIEWS
A role for complement in transmissible spongiform encephalopathies
Nature Medicine News and Views (01 Apr 2001)
B lymphocytes in prion neuroinvasion: Central or peripheral players?
Nature Medicine News and Views (01 Dec 1998)
 See all 5 matches for News And Views

RESEARCH
Positioning of follicular dendritic cells within the spleen controls prion neuroinvasion
Nature Letters to Editor (30 Oct 2003)
The sympathetic nervous system is involved in variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease
Nature Medicine Brief Communications (01 Sep 2003)
 See all 3 matches for Research