Uncovering Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease: The Mysteries of Prion Diseases

Neurodegenerative diseases are very common around the world and happen due to a variety of reasons. Some of them happen due to old age, some of them might occur due to external factors, etc. Though rare, prion diseases are a type of neurodegenerative disease that are caused by prions, hence the name. Prions are intrinsically disordered proteins that cause other proteins around them to fold and are transmissible through different media like food and genetics. Prions are quite similar to viruses in that they are contagious but are functionally different from each other. Unlike viruses, prions can actually clump up in the brain and damage neural cells that way. Though these diseases are rare, there are many scientists around the world experimenting and researching possible treatments for them as there are none right now. The mysteries of prion diseases are what makes them so confounding; they are quite unpredictable and can even occur in the healthiest people. Unraveling these mysteries will help aid society to find cures for these diseases and improve the lives of many around the world.