Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathy
A form of neurodegenerative disease known as transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE) is one of the fastest-growing causes of death on the planet and will likely become the leading cause of death. Many factors are contributing to the surge, including the fact that TSEs are transmissible.
The most common forms of TSE includes amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD), Gerstmann-Straussler-Scheinker disease (GSS), Huntington’s disease, and Parkinson’s disease. Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) likely falls under the TSE umbrella. No two cases are identical in terms of pathology, but they all are fatal and incurable.
According to Dr. Stanley Prusiner, a Nobel Prize Laureate, all are forms of prion (PREE-on) disease. TSEs are caused by a toxic protein known as a prion. Some TSEs are triggered by genetics and head trauma, but most are caused by prion contamination.
Prion disease is caused by cellular prion proteins that misfire and misfold into infectious prions, which consume the brain. This aggregate of toxic proteins continues to build and spread throughout the body — infecting bodily fluids and tissue, including blood, mucus, saliva, skin and organs. Prion disease is a serious threat to caregivers, family members and others.
Unfortunately, prion disease generates a tremendous amount of infectious waste that creeps into our lives. Prions are impossible to neutralize once unleashed from the body of victims.
The biggest difference between different forms of prion disease is the region of the brain that’s under attack. If the prions start their attack in the hippocampus region of the brain, the person will experience memory issues. This will likely generate a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease.
If prions begin their attack in the cerebellum region of the brain, the person will likely experience motion and coordination problems, which will likely generate a diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease.
Most forms of neurodegenerative disease will eventually spread throughout the brain and body, which expands the range of symptoms.
A pathological hallmark of prion disease is the development of a sponge-like pattern within the brain, referred to as vacuoles. The sponge-like holes in the brain inspired the medical term for prion disease–transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE). Unfortunately, the other key word in the medical term is “transmissible.”
Prions are spreading through our food, water, health systems and beyond. Prions are unstoppable. Misinformation, disinformation, corruption and collusion are compounding the threat.
Not only is prion disease fatal and incurable, it also is highly transmissible between most mammals. Prions migrate, mutate and multiply, so there are now thousands, if not millions, of mutations in the environment and within our communities. Ignoring the threat is not a solution.
What’s The Difference Between Alzheimer’s Disease and Mad Cow Disease
The biggest difference between Alzheimer’s disease, mad cow disease and chronic wasting disease in wildlife is the species impacted. The species-specific names are a smokescreen to keep the truth about the prion pandemic buried. All are forms of transmissible spongiform encephalopathy. Prion contamination from humans has infected wildlife and livestock. Meanwhile, prion contamination from wildlife and livestock also has infected humans. It’s a vicious circle. Species barriers against prion disease are a myth.
Contrary to popular belief, neurodegenerative disease is not a normal part of aging, but age is a factor. Longevity increases our exposure to neurotoxins. Today, neurodegenerative disease is killing teenagers. The truth is more elusive than a cure.
Supposedly, no one knows the scope of the prion pandemic. The evidence swept under the rug and the global misinformation campaign suggest otherwise. As mentioned earlier, the pandemic is more severe in some regions than others. Thanks to infectious waste, prions migrate, mutate and multiply. They mutate and strengthen as they move up the food chain.
Most hospitals, neurologists, surgeons, coroners and even morticians are aware of the prion threat. Unfortunately, family members and caregivers are not being warned.
Wastewater reclamation and blood supplies, for example, are now weapons of mass destruction. Wastewater treatment plants can’t stop deadly prions before recycling the water for drinking and irrigation. Blood donors are not screened for prion disease.
Prion contamination is impacting more people and more families than ever today. It’s also killing livestock, wildlife and sea mammals. The connection is undeniable. Wastewater management, industrial agriculture and modern medicine are spreading these neurotoxins far and wide. As the population becomes sicker, the human waste stream becomes deadlier.
TSE has been surging around the world for years.
Alzheimer’s disease alone is surging at a rate of at least 15 percent per year in many countries–the largest increase of all major causes of death. In the U.S., nearly one in every five Medicare dollars is spent on people with Alzheimer’s disease or another dementia. These costs will rise as the prion contagion spreads, soaring to more than $1 trillion in 2050.
Despite millions of deaths every year, experts suggest that the prevalence of Alzheimer’s disease alone will quadruple by 2050, if not sooner. In the United States, for example, deaths from Alzheimer’s disease increased 146 percent from 2000 to 2018, while deaths from heart disease decreased 14 percent. Given the vast numbers of people with Alzheimer’s disease who go undiagnosed, the real number is probably double the official statistics. At $355 billion a year, Alzheimer’s disease is already the most expensive disease in the United States.
Unfortunately, neurologists have withheld millions of diagnoses from patients and their families. Without such suppression, the public costs outlined above would be much higher. By suppressing diagnoses, the burden of care is being placed firmly on families instead of insurance companies. According to an investigative report by the Alzheimer’s Association, physicians in the U.S. only inform 45 percent of patients about their Alzheimer’s disease diagnosis. In addition to ethical concerns and health risks, such suppression helps shade the silent pandemic.
A groundbreaking study suggested that Alzheimer’s disease actually causes six times more deaths than official statistics indicate. The study said that Alzheimer’s disease was the underlying cause in more than 500,000 deaths in 2010. Unfortunately, Alzheimer’s deaths are often attributed to conditions, such as pneumonia. It appears that more accurate numbers make Alzheimer’s disease the third-leading cause of death in the United States, behind heart disease and cancer. Researchers at the Rush University Medical Center in Chicago led the study and published their results in 2013 in the medical journal Neurology.
The Problem With Prions
Dr. Stanley Prusiner, an American neuroscientist from the University of California at San Francisco, earned a Nobel Prize in 1997 for discovering and characterizing deadly, infectious prions and prion disease. President Obama awarded Prusiner the National Medal of Science in 2010 to recognize the importance of his research.
In June 2012, Prusiner confirmed that Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, Huntington’s and even ALS are prion diseases. Other prion diseases include Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) in people, mad cow disease in livestock and chronic wasting disease (CWD) in wildlife. The variations in disease progression could be due to genetics in the patients or mutations in the prion, not different diseases entirely.
Governments and industry are working diligently to keep prion disease off the public radar because there are few answers. For example, it’s virtually impossible to sterilize anything exposed to a person with prion disease. Hospital systems are now on high alert after several lawsuits regarding prion exposure.
Ignoring the truth about prions on a broader scale is making the pandemic worse. Since prion disease is a transmissible disease, prion contamination via bodily fluids and tissue is a public health threat. Unfortunately, prion disease is being grossly mismanaged around the world in people, wildlife and livestock.
Learn more about Dr. Prusiner’s science, prions and prion contamination.
The medical term for prion disease is transmissible spongiform encephalopathy, which includes ALS, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, mad cow disease, chronic wasting disease.
