Bovine spongiform encephalopathy detection

Western blot A method to detect protein in a given sample of tissue homogenate or extract. It uses gel electrophoresis to separate denatured proteins by mass. Some diagnostic applications for the Western blot include Lyme disease, bovine spongiform encephalopathy, and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) (it is considered the gold standard for HIV diagnostic testing). 

There is a lack of practical laboratory assays to detect bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE)-like agents so the potential introduction of these agents into the process must be controlled by avoiding bovine-based materials, using materials from low-risk bovine tissues, and/or sourcing materials from countries with good BSE control measures [21],... 

Abdulmawjood A, Schonenbriicher H, Biilte M (2005). Novel molecular method for detection of bovine-specific central nervous system tissues as bovine spongiform encephalopathy risk material in meat and meat products. J. Mol Diagn., 7 368-374. 

Prusiner, Stanley Ben (b. 1942) American neurologist and biochemist who was the first scientist since the discovery of viruses to detect an entirely new infective agent. Prusiner, as a young neurology resident, was in charge of a patient who died of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD). He decided to research the cause. Ten years later, he isolated small protein bodies, which he called prions, and showed that these were the cause of CJD and of the similar bovine spongiform encephalopathy. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine in 1997. 

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