Prion disease (sometimes called transmissible spongiform encephalopathy) causes brain damage that leads to dementia. These symptoms develop suddenly and worsen quickly. It’s rare, affecting about 1 in 1 million people worldwide. Prion diseases are terminal illnesses.

Overview. Prion diseases occur when proteins normally in the body misfold and cause illness. The misfolding leads to brain damage and other symptoms. Symptoms may take years to develop. But once they do, the disease rapidly progresses and leads to death.

Learn about prion diseases, rare conditions that affect the brain and are always fatal. Find out the types, causes, symptoms, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of prion diseases.

Prion diseases are rare, fatal neurodegenerative disorders caused by misfolded prion proteins in the brain. Learn about the different types of prion diseases, how they affect humans and animals, and what treatments are available.

prion, an abnormal form of a normally harmless protein found in the brain that is responsible for a variety of fatal neurodegenerative diseases of animals, including humans, called transmissible spongiform encephalopathies.

Prions are proteinaceous infectious particles that cause neurodegenerative diseases in mammals. Learn about their structure, types, causes, symptoms and how they replicate without cellular machinery.

Prions are proteins that change their shape and can cause disease. Learn how prions are different from normal proteins, how they infect cells, and what diseases they cause.

Prion diseases are fatal brain disorders caused by misfolded prion proteins that spread and kill neurons. Learn about the types, symptoms, and modes of transmission of prion diseases, such as Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, kuru, and vCJD.

What are Prions? Prions are distinct, misfolded proteins that induce other proteins of the same type to adopt an abnormal structure, ultimately leading to cellular damage and death. Unlike traditional infectious agents such as bacteria, viruses, or fungi, prions lack nucleic acids, which are typically required for replication.