First artificial human prion synthesized in the lab

Researchers from the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine (CWRSM; OH, USA) have synthesized the first human prion – a huge step towards better understanding exactly how and why these misfolded proteins cause brain disease and deterioration. Prions are misfolded proteins that interact and bind with other normal proteins in the brain, causing a variety of diseases, known as prion diseases. Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease is the most common of these illnesses, and is characterized by microscopic holes in the brain matter, leading to dementia and death. Human prion diseases account for about 0.01% of deaths worldwide and there is no...