ABSTRACT
The major focus of this book is to detail the various approaches that are being developed to rapidly and accurately diagnose the transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSE), also known as prion diseases. This aim has acquired increased urgency because of the emergence first of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), and then of the related human disease, referred to as new-variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (nvCJD) (1,2). Evidence obtained from several laboratories, using different approaches, established that nvCJD was caused by the ingestion of BSE-contaminated material; this fact emphasizes the importance of being able to assess the BSE status of cattle prior to entrance into the food chain or processing industry (3,4). The extensive use of both human and bovine material for either therapy or prophylaxis of human diseases points to the need for rapid diagnosis of both BSE and CJD. A partial list of products and procedures used in humans that are based on obtaining material from cows or humans includes factor VIII, various heterologous transplants from humans, such as kidney and bone marrow, hyperimmune human IgG preparations, therapeutic enzymes, gonadotropin, surfactants, collagen, etc.
