Blood tests for detecting prions
2005/10/01 Elhuyar Zientzia Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria
It is known that the disease of mad cows is due to prions. Well, a comfortable method of analysis is underway to detect them, a blood test. With Hamster they have already achieved it and in a few months they expect to obtain an analysis adapted to the human being.
Prions accumulate in the brain, while in the blood they are very few. That is why it is very difficult to detect these prions in blood. To detect the disease in livestock, for example, they have to die and take a sample of the brain.
To overcome this difficulty, experts at the University of Texas amplify the amount of protein enough to detect it. In addition, the analysis has been machined. And adapting this model to the human being, they believe that in six months they will have a blood test that detects the disease of the mad cows.
This analysis will help to analyze the blood of the blood banks. In fact, it is believed that in Britain two people have died after suffering a transfusion.
