Its a mad mad world, Science, College Term Papers.com


		Data Bases
		• Custom Term Papers • Free Term Papers • Free Research Papers • Free Essays • Free Book Reports • Plagiarism?

		Links
		• Top 100 Term Paper Sites • Top 25 Essay Sites • Top 50 Essay Sites • Search 97,000 Papers @ DirectEssays.com • Search 101,000 Papers @ ExampleEssays.com • Search 90,000 Papers @ MegaEssays.com

		Free Essays
		• Term Paper Sites • Chuck III's Free Essays • Free College Essays • TermPaperSites.com • My Term Papers • Get Free Essays • Essay World • Planet Papers

Search Lots of Essays

Back to Subjects - Science

Its a mad mad world

Its a mad mad world Mad cow disease. A few years ago, I would not have even known what this term meant, but lately I have been hearing it everywhere. Mad cow disease, medical term bovine spongiform encephalopathy or BSE, is a malady that is wreaking havoc on Britain’s cattle herds. It is called mad cow disease because of the way infected cows act: wobbling all over as if drunk, drooling, and eventually dropping over dead. European cows first contracted the BSE in the late 1800s after they ate feed that contained slaughter-house leftovers that were infected with this disease. Since then, the disease has spread through-out England and the surrounding areas. In 1985, the disease was first identified by an English vet who was curious as to why cows were acting so oddly. Upon studying autopsies of dead cows, he found that they had holes in their brain: thus the name spongiform. Experts believe that the disease is caused by an indestructible infectious agent called a “prion” The prion is a mutated version of a normal protein cell found on the surface of nerve cells in the brain. Once a person is infected, the mutated prion uses electrical impulses to trigger healthy protein cells to change from their normal coiled shape into the mutated form: flat pleats. A chain reaction follows, resulting in a cluster of tangled non-functional proteins called plaques. These plaques destroy brain cells, resulting in a type of disease collectively known as transmissible spongiform encephalophy. TSEs cause inflammation and spongelike holes in the delicate membranes surrounding brain cells. Usually, the prions attack the front lower section of the brain, the part that involves In recent years, British officials have disclosed that, contrary to what they originally thought, mad cow disease can be spread to humans. The human form of BSE, called new variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD) is becoming more and more prevalent in England. Since 1995, over 80 cases have been diagnosed. 1 The majority of the victims of Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease are between 50 and 70. Experts are not sure why this is, but they think it has something to do with the fact that the incubation period of prions can be over 30 years and may be triggered into action by Symptoms of the disease start with seeming depression, then graduate into difficulty swallowing, muscle twitching, loss of speech, paralysis, and dementia. These symptoms can last anywhere from over a year to under a month, but always, the sure outcome is Unfortunately, there is no cure for this disease. Doctors with CJD patients try to make them as comfortable as possible and treat the individual symptoms, but there is nothing they can do to stop or slow the progress of CJD. 2 England is taking great strides in prevention and control of this disease. So far, they have slaughtered over 400,000 cows that are suspected of having BSE and are doing research on many fronts: ways to destroy prions, prevention of the spread of BSE and Harris 3 CJD, and they are also researching different products that contain cow by-products are in: different foods such as Jello, and also cosmetics. 1 More than four years after scientists discovered a link between "mad cow disease" and its human equivalent, doctors are still mystified by the illness for which there is no cure. Of the 84 people infected by new variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease more than 70 have died and no one is sure how many others may be harboring the disease. Estimates of new infections range from hundreds to millions – a thought that is almost too scary to Bibliography:

Word Count: 612