In the new book The Family That Couldn't Sleep, journalist D.T. Max investigates Fatal Familial Insomnia - a strange prion disease that has been linked to Variant Creutzfeld-Jakobs Disease (the human form of mad cow disease).
posted by grapefruitmoon on Jan 5, 2007 - 34 comments

By the way...Americans may have eaten mad cow.
posted by soyjoy on Nov 4, 2005 - 65 comments

Did wild game feasts lead to fatal brain disorders?
BSE/CJD comes to Middle America. How much of a threat is this to the rural, huntin', shootin', fishin' lifestyle?
Or is it just as much a threat to your average carnivore? More inside >>>
posted by dash_slot- on Jul 21, 2002 - 23 comments

Death toll from nCJD passes 100. Is it me, or were we expecting a lot more than that? SEAC called for more post mortem examinations to be conducted on elderly people who die with suspected dementia, in case vCJD is being misdiagnosed as Alzheimer's or senility. Seems unlikely that a diagnosis of Alzheimer's or dementia could be made *without* a postmortem, but there ya go.
posted by methylsalicylate on May 25, 2001 - 2 comments

Rethinking Mad Cow Disease So ususually when I see a story about an "amateur scientist" who has an "alternative theory" to some issue, I get all gooshy inside waiting to see what insane theory it is this time, but this guy has what seems to be a very credible alternative explanation for BSE/CJD occurrences and some credible science to back him up.
posted by briank on Feb 1, 2001 - 6 comments