Live prion detection
Mad cow disease and the variant of this disease that affects people cannot be diagnosed before symptoms appear, since the causes, prions, are not easily detectable in living beings. Therefore, the definitive diagnosis is made after the death of the patient, both in livestock and in people.
The method used so far in people is the collection of the blood sample, its injection to a laboratory animal and, after a few months, the analysis of the dead animal and the brain to check for signs of disease. It is an expensive and slow method, which only succeeds in a third of cases.
Researchers have been looking for another method for some time. A few years ago they discovered how to multiply the prions that were in the blood of infected hamsters and, in addition, they found a resin that is associated with prions. This greatly facilitated the detection of prions, but they did not know if it served people, and yet it took days to make the diagnosis.
Now they have tried another way. Cornell University in New York is developing a resonant-based method for detecting prions and antibodies associated with prions. In the tests they have done so far, they have obtained very good results. Unlike the previous ones, it is reliable and very fast, as its result is immediate. However, they have not yet completely finished the work, since they have carried out experiments with saline solutions and not with blood.
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