Mad cow disease

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Mad cow disease

Mad cow disease (bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or BSE) is a degenerative, usually fatal disease that affects the central nervous system of cattle, sheep, and goats. While humans cannot get mad cow disease, in rare cases they may get a human form called variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD) if they eat nerve tissue (the brain and spinal cord) of cattle infected with mad cow disease.

No one is sure what causes mad cow disease. One theory is that the disease is caused by a change in the shape of some of the proteins found in animal cells. This change may be caused by other abnormal proteins called prions. In affected cows, the abnormal proteins (prions) are found in the brain, spinal cord, and small intestine. Another theory is that mad cow disease is caused by a virus that causes the proteins to change and become abnormal (prions).

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Author	Jeannette Curtis
Author	Caroline Rea, RN, BS, MS
Editor	Kathleen M. Ariss, MS
Editor	Susan Van Houten, RN, BSN, MBA
Associate Editor	Tracy Landauer
Associate Editor	Pat Truman, MATC
Primary Medical Reviewer	Patrice Burgess, MD - Family Medicine
Primary Medical Reviewer	Adam Husney, MD - Family Medicine
Primary Medical Reviewer	Kathleen Romito, MD - Family Medicine
Last Updated	May 25, 2007

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Last updated:	May 25, 2007
Author:	Caroline Rea, RN, BS, MS
Reviewed By:	Kathleen Romito, MD - Family Medicine
Editors:	Susan Van Houten, RN, BSN, MBA, Pat Truman, MATC

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