How can prion (abnormally fold protein) can cause CNS damage? Why the disease is most known in sheep? ?

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Prion disease in animals is sheep scrapie. The disease form the sponge like aappearancein the brain. If the scrapie infected sheep is fed to cows, the mad cow disease develop. If a person eats poorly cooked beef, we can also be transmitted with mad cow disease.
This is a very complicated question. And there are some clarifications that should be made to statements in the text which follows the question.

First - prion disease in animals takes different forms depending on the species of origin (if the disease was transmitted) and the species which has contracted the disease. Prion disease in cows is called Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (otherwise known as Mad Cow Disease). Other animals like goats, deer, elk, moose, mink, some felines, and others can get prion disease. In humans there are several variants of prion diseases . Humans can become ill with Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD), variant CJD (from eating 'mad cow beef'), Kuru, Fatal Familial Insomnia (FFI), and Gerstmann-Sträussler-Scheinker (GSS) disease.

Prion disease in sheep is indeed called Scrapie, and is partially characterized by microscopic sponge-like appearance in the brain.

Second - the transmission of Scrapie to cows has been documented experimentally, however it is unknown whether feeding cows sheep meat caused the Mad Cow epidemic of the UK, or whether this would happen in "real life" or non experimental conditions.

Third - eating poorly cooked beef does not conclusively increase your chances of contracting mad cow disease. Although prions are in very low concentration in muscle tissue or meat, they are very hard to inactivate. So cooking may not affect infectivity. The bottom line: in the entire world, just over 200 cases of humans becoming ill from this type of infection (vCJD) have been documented.

Finally - to answer the two questions:

A. How a protein can cause CNS damage
- The prion protein, when misfolded, is not in its normal cellular state. Also, the newly misfolded proteins aggregate and form into very stable 'clumps' called amyloid plaques. One could say that the human body does not know how to deal with the protein in this state, and normal cellular processes cannot break down the clumps. Cells in the immediate area die because normal processing cannot occur. There is a broad range of neural degeneration events that follow. Autophagy is a type of programmed cell death which is characterized by the formation of large vacuoles that eat away and break down cell parts. This process, when caused by the excess of prion clumps (amyloid plaques) occurring throughout the brain and CNS is as close as I can get to answering the question of how a protein can cause CNS damage.

B. Why the disease is most known in sheep
- I think this is because Scrapie is the most prevalent Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathy. Many sheep accross the world (with the exception of New Zealand and Austrailia) die of Scrapie every year, whereas, the other diseases are quite rare. Also, Scrapie was the first TSE disease humans were really aware of. It was documented by farmers/vets in the 18th century.  (+ info)

what is foot and mouth disease and why is not called hoof and mouth if its cows and sheep that get it?

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it is called foot and mouth disease - there is a suspected out break of it in england just now and they might have to burn all the animal affected, just want to know what it is!
Hi mycatty - what a good question. I'm kicking myself for never having questioned why we say "foot and mouth" instead of hoof and mouth - logical, really. Have a star!
I don't know how the disease progresses, but it is an acute and highly infectious viral disease and shows itself as vesicular eruptions (large abscesses) in the animals' mouths and hoofs.  (+ info)

can any one help me out in knowing about the scrapie disease in sheep caused by virions?

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Scrapie

Veterinary Services

August 2004

Scrapie is a fatal, degenerative disease affecting the central nervous system of sheep and goats. It is among a number of diseases classified as transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSE). Infected flocks that contain a high percentage of susceptible animals can experience significant production losses. Over a period of several years the number of infected animals increases, and the age at onset of clinical signs decreases making these flocks economically unviable. Female animals sold from infected flocks spread scrapie to other flocks. The presence of scrapie in the United States also prevents the export of breeding stock, semen, and embryos to many other countries. TSEs are the subject of increased attention and concern because of the discovery of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in cattle, the link between BSE and variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD) in people, and feline spongiform encephalopathy (FSE) in cats in Europe. This increased concern has led to the following:

• Packers and producers have had difficulty finding options for disposal of sheep offal and dead sheep causing packers and producers to incur significant increases in disposal costs,
• Other countries have expressed concerns and have indicated that they may prohibit or restrict certain ruminant products because the United States has scrapie, and
• Domestic and international markets for U.S. sheep–derived meat and bone meal have been adversely affected.
The combination of all of these factors has led to the decision to develop a strong scrapie eradication program in the United States.

Epidemiology and Transmission

The agent responsible for scrapie and other TSEs is smaller than the smallest known virus and has not been completely characterized. There are three main theories on the nature of the scrapie agent: (1) the agent is a prion, which is an abnormal form of a normal cellular protein, 2)the agent is a virus with unusual characteristics, and (3) the agent is a virino, a very small piece of DNA that acts like a virus. The scrapie agent is extremely resistant to heat and to normal sterilization processes. It does not evoke any detectable immune response or inflammatory reaction in sheep and goats.

The scrapie agent is thought to be spread most commonly from the ewe to her offspring and to other lambs through contact with the placenta and placental fluids. Signs or effects of the disease usually appear 2 to 5 years after the animal is infected but may not appear until much later. Sheep may live 1 to 6 months or longer after the onset of clinical signs, but death is inevitable. The genetics of the sheep affects their susceptibility to scrapie.

In the laboratory, the scrapie agent has been transmitted to hamsters, mice, rats, voles, gerbils, mink, cattle, and some species of monkeys by inoculation. There is no scientific evidence to indicate that scrapie poses a risk to human health. There is no epidemiologic evidence that scrapie of sheep and goats is transmitted to humans, such as through contact on the farm, at slaughter plants, or butcher shops.

Clinical Signs

Signs of scrapie vary widely among individual animals and develop very slowly. Due to damage to nerve cells, affected animals usually show behavioral changes, tremor (especially of head and neck), rubbing, and locomotor incoordination that progresses to recumbency and death.

Early signs include subtle changes in behavior or temperament. These changes may be followed by scratching and rubbing against fixed objects, apparently to relieve itching. Other signs are loss of coordination, weakness, weight loss despite retention of appetite, biting of feet and limbs, lip smacking, and gait abnormalities, including high–stepping of the forelegs, hopping like a rabbit, and swaying of the back end.

An infected animal may appear normal if left undisturbed at rest. However, when stimulated by a sudden noise, excessive movement, or the stress of handling, the animal may tremble or fall down in a convulsive–like state.

Several other problems can cause clinical signs similar to scrapie in sheep, including the diseases ovine progressive pneumonia, listeriosis, and rabies; the presence of external parasites (lice and mites); pregnancy toxemia; and toxins.

On the farm, veterinarians diagnose scrapie based on the appearance of its signs combined with knowledge of the animal's history. Scrapie can be diagnosed in the live animal by biopsy of the lymphoid tissues on the inside of the third eyelid. This test is used by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) to determine whether exposed flocks are infected. Scrapie is most often diagnosed by microscopic examinations of brain tissue at necropsy or by procedures that detect the presence of the abnormal prion protein in brain tissue.

Research

Scrapie research efforts are current  (+ info)

Disease...?

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I have Trichotillomania, the hair pulling disease. I cannot control my urges to pull, at all. I've tried wrapping my fingers in rubber bands while I write and do work in class (since I pull alot with one hand as I write with the other) and so many other things. It would help so much if I could get some suggestions on ways to keep myself from pulling my hair. I've tried hats, fake nails, etc. Hats were just too aggrivating and annoying. Help? Thank you ahead of time! <3
a pair of handcuffs and your hands behind your back should work nicely  (+ info)

disease ???????/??????

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Hemorrhagic Hereditary Telangiectasia , idk what it is i just heard about it , how do i detect it and what does the disease do
Yes, its a genetic disease. Its also called Osler-Weber-Rendu Syndrome.

Its an abnormality of blood vessels. They get malformed. And because of this abnormal structure they have, they easily bleed and are visible as spots on some parts of the body, esp. the mucous membranes.

This can cause a lot of bleeding in some. In some, these malformed vessels in major organs will have an effect on their function.

There is no cure. The problems that arise keep getting solved by doctors and multiple hospital admissions. But that's all, since there really isn't any solution on repairing the blood vessels all over the body.  (+ info)

Are there any health problems or diseases that people may contract from sheep?

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My family & I are in close, constant contact with sheep, especially during lambing season. Are there any known illness's or disease's that we are at risk of catching? We've been in the sheep biz for over 30 years & my family members & I seem to have had a somewhat out of the ordinary combined medical history (my brother died at 20yo from brain tumor, sis has Adisons disease, I have Uveitis, Mom's had ongoing kidney issues, etc etc.) I'd just like to learn whether sheep are linked with causing any human health problems, & what they are. For example: I've heard that pregnant woman are supposed to avoid contact with sheep. Why & what exactly happens if they are exposed? ....during lambing season we frequently have to "enter" the sheep to pull difficult lambs. We have constant direct contact with blood, after-birth, diseased/sick sheep, dead sheep/lambs, & the asst. meds/vacines we must administer......... so ANY help, answers, advice on the subject would be really appreciated.
Hydatids tape worms in the liver .~~  (+ info)

What countries eat sheep eyeballs? How and why do they do so?

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How are sheep eyeballs cooked? Why is it that there are no recipes on the internet for sheep eyeballs? What do sheep eyeballs taste like?
india and sri lanka...taste like chicken  (+ info)

What is the definition of a disease, and specifically a mental disease? Has science truly failed?

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I think this is the biggest failure of science and generally the world. It is full of imperfections, even though religion is not a better alternative.

But, what can you define as a disease; and what can you not? First of all, we have to realize that all humans are different physically. But they should be treated equally on moral basis, and on the basis of humanity (whether its gay ppl, straight ppl, women, old ppl; they should be treated equally on moral grounds).

Because people are different physically; they exhibit different behavior due to the chemistry of their body. Here is where the tricky part comes. What can you categorize as an illness/disease/disorder and what can you not? This is the biggest failure of science: why do you need to categorize things into illnesses and non-illnesses? It is clear you are letting your bias through. Modern feminists define rape that is only committed by a man on a woman. So there come the discrepancies. Why can you not accept behavior that everyone's behavior is deviant from one another. Why do we have to claim somethings are anomalies, and some are not? I know pedophilia and rape is wrong, but can you categorize is as an illness/disease/disorder? Do we have any proof that pedophilia and rape are not illnesses/diseases/disorders? Is there any proof that homosexuality is not an illness/disease/disorder? I dont think so.

So why do we have to say that pedophilia and rape are done intentionally, when they could very well be 'illnesses'. And how can we say homosexuality is not a disease/disorder when it could be?

The fact is that these are faulty premises. We cannot categorize things into illnesses/diseases/disorders. Everyone is different from each other physically and psycologically. That is the best way to deal with things. Science cannot even come to a consensus when (at what time period) a child in a mother's womb is alive; or whether abortion is murder or not (after what stage). So i think science has failed in that aspect.
EDIT:

Feminists wants the EXACT same physical rights for women that they want for men. Men and women are different physically, remember that. So I would want rights to be 'balanced out' between male and female; and that would constitute as EQUAL rights, not the EXACT SAME rights.
EDIT

Is there any proof that homosexuality is NOT a disorder/illness. Then why does science say it is NOT a disorder/illness? Is there any proof that pedophilia/rape is NOT a disease.

Please answer these questions, and give me conclusive studies NOT theories for this. Evolution as you like it or not is NOT proven, it is a THEORY. I also mentioned religion is not a better alternative.
Science is science. Medicine is medicine,.Religion is religion. Religion should not mix in often with the first two, and then, only rarely.
None are absolutes, they are always changing and being refined, sometimes out and out shook up and turned on their heads.
You can define plenty of things as illness/ disease and others as disorders.

I think you are concentrating on the grey areas of how religion and culture can shape policy and definitions and blaming science for those grey areas. Please remember all areas of science, medicine, religion, and politics are influenced by PEOPLE. People have opinions/beliefs,etc. and those opinions influence how they are going to interpret their work and world outlook. So if you want to blame anyone for the grey areas, blame the people that create them, NOT science.

and as for equal rights, we just want the same opportunities when qualified, and the same pay for the same work.
Please remember ALL people are physically different. Compare Don Knotts to her: http://www.wrestlingkingdom.com/women/women_of_wrestling_good.html and tell me who is physically (strength wise) superior?

p.s. this is getting pretty close to a rant which is illegal on yahoo answers. Most of this should be in the philosophy or the R/S section anyway. They are used to this sort of thing there. We usually just answer questions about diseases here.

Evolution- you need to look up what that means, seriously. Are you very young and go to an evangelical church or anything? I see this sort of thing in the RS section all the time, usually by youngsters who haven't attended 9th grade biology yet. Ok, Have you ever heard of MRSA, VRSA, antibiotic resistant Tuberculosis? Well, there is evolution in action. You also need to look up the scientific definition of Theory is. Here are a few more "the THEORY of GRAVITY" the THEORY of ELECTRICITY". lol! This is just plain silly, please post elsewhere!  (+ info)

What is the difference between an immune disorder and an autoimmune disease?

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1.What is the difference between an immune disorder and an autoimmune disease?

A.When an immune disorder becomes very severe, it becomes an autoimmune disease.
B.An immune disorder occurs when the immune system does not function properly. An autoimmune disease occurs when the body's immune system attacks its own cells.
C.An immune disorder is the overreaction of the immune system to substances that are not dangerous. An autoimmune disease occurs when germs affect the immune system.
D.An immune disorder is a disease caused by germs, such as pollen or dust. An autoimmune disease occurs when the body's immune system attacks its own cells.
2.An allergy is an overreaction of the immune system to

A.dust.
B.a substance in the environment.
C.carbohydrates in food.
D.an autoimmune disease.
3.During an asthma attack, the

A.bronchial airways narrow and become clogged with mucus.
B.bronchial airways constrict in response to environmental stimuli.
C.lining of the air passages swell and become inflamed.
D.All of the above
4.All of the following are good steps to take to avoid an allergic reaction except

A.avoiding substances you are allergic to.
B.washing sheets and blankets weekly.
C.cleaning bathrooms and kitchens to avoid molds.
D.taking long-term control drugs every day.
5.Which of the following is not an example of an autoimmune disease?

A.rheumatoid arthritis
B.type 1 diabetes
C.multiple sclerosis
D.AIDS
6.Most allergies and autoimmune diseases can be

A.prevented.
B.treated with medication.
C.eliminated with stress management techniques.
D.reduced by avoiding allergens.
7.Which of the following suggestions is not an important step to take if you are diagnosed with an immune or autoimmune disease?

A.Follow your treatment plan without asking any questions.
B.Let your doctor know if new symptoms occur.
C.Be honest with your doctor.
D.Learn about medications and medical tests necessary for your condition
8.Match the following terms to their definitions.
1.itchy swellings on the skin caused by allergies to foods or certain drugs
2.an autoimmune disease in which the immune system begins to destroy the linings of the joints
3.a disease in which the immune system attacks the cells of the body that it would normally protect
4.a disorder that causes the airways to become narrow and clogged with mucus
5.a disease in which the joints of the skeleton wear out as a person ages

A.rheumatoid arthritis
B.autoimmune disease
C.asthma
D.hives
E.osteoarthritis
Do your own homework.



You - FAIL  (+ info)

How do I make sausage casings from hog or sheep intestines?

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What is the procedure to turn hog or sheep small intestines into sausage casings? What tools are required to process the intestines? What is the process? What's the best way to preserve the finished product?
orf1943: I contacted some people regarding the purchase of the intestines. It's readily available.
I've never tried. I go to a large butcher shop and buy from them. I don't know how to do it, but buying is much easier. Besides, where can you get intestines?

***** added info *****

I would think it's so much easier. Casings are the thin membrane from the outside of the intestine. There's probably a trick for soaking them in something to make peeling the membrane off easier. The amount of time and effort way exceeds the few bucks you pay for casings. The membranes are shipped in salt. Soak them an hour in water, and hold them over the spigot on your water tap. Then run water through them for a few minutes. I love making homemade sausage. No preservatives, and I can control the amount of sodium. MUCH BETTER! Good luck  (+ info)

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