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Transmissible spongiform encephalopathy Index

Definition of Transmissible spongiform encephalopathy

Transmissible spongiform encephalopathy: One of a number of progressive neurodegenerative disorders in animals and humans caused by similar uncharacterized agents that produce spongiform changes in the brain.

Specific examples of transmissible spongiform encephalopathies include:

In animals:
- scrapie, which affects sheep and goats;
- bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), also called mad cow disease, which affects cattle;
- transmissible mink encephalopathy;
- feline spongiform encephalopathy;
- chronic wasting disease (CWD) of mule deer, white-tailed deer, black-tailed deer, and elk.
In humans:
- kuru;
- Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease;
- Gerstmann-Straussler syndrome;
- fatal familial insomnia;
- variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD).

Last Editorial Review: 1/2/2004

Transmissible spongiform encephalopathy Index

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Definition of Transmissible spongiform encephalopathy

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