NR AEQR
AU Goldfarb,L.G.
TI Kuru: the old epidemic in a new mirror.
QU Microbes and Infection 2002 Jul; 4(8): 875-82
PT historical article; journal article; review; review, tutorial
AB The kuru epidemic lasted almost a century; it started in 1901-1902, reached epidemic proportions in the mid-1950s, and disappeared in the 1990s. Kuru is the prototype member of a group of disorders known as transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs) or prion diseases. Recent data on the genetics and pathogenesis of TSEs contribute to a better understanding of the documented kuru phenomena, and vice versa, observations made during the kuru epidemic are immensely helpful in understanding the epidemic of variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease that is currently developing in Europe. The major goal of this review is to identify and illustrate these points.
ZR 47
MH Cannibalism/history; Creutzfeldt-Jakob Syndrome/epidemiology/genetics/physiopathology; History of Medicine, 20th Cent.; Human; Kuru/*epidemiology/genetics/history/physiopathology; New Guinea/ethnology; Prions/physiology
AD National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Room 4B37, Bldg 10, 10 Center Drive, Bethesda, MD 20892-1361, USA. goldfarbl@ninds.nih.gov
SP englisch
PO Frankreich