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[–]8Jennyx 1475 points1476 points1477 points  (63 children)
Prions are my Roman Empire. I swear I think of prions absurdly more than anyone should. The fact that they exist and can do that amount of damage is haunting.
If you want to terrify yourself here’s some info
[–]purpleoctopustrolley 591 points592 points593 points  (5 children)
I read that as prisons and realized I think about prison a lot.
[–]onlyonedayatatime 37 points38 points39 points  (0 children)
I was nodding my head and writing a response that the commenter must also be a lawyer, then I re-read :(
[–]BlackSeranna 16 points17 points18 points  (0 children)
Prions are definitely well designed by nature
[–]Historical_Boss2447 2 points3 points4 points  (0 children)
Have you ever been in a Turkish prison?
[–]Raps4Reddit 4 points5 points6 points  (1 child)
The weirdest thing about prison is that it's not that different from free life. You just stuck here passing the time. There are things you can't do that you wish you could. Only difference is you know what you are missing in prison.
[–]Chance_Mind_6627 4 points5 points6 points  (0 children)
Um no.
[–]RipErRiley 162 points163 points164 points  (7 children)
I started reading about prions and noped the fuck out. Not my desired vibe for today.
[–]nino_blanco720 12 points13 points14 points  (6 children)
Explain it to a simpleton?
[–]BlytheTruth[🍰] 65 points66 points67 points  (5 children)
Fucked up broken proteins that make viruses look like puppies. They can't (currently at least) be treated because there really isn't anything to fight. You're body sees a protein just like any other. Mad cow disease and zombie deer disease are caused by them. They've been hinted at in several neurological disorders. Plus they can happen spontaneously in the environment and seem to last a long ass time. They're not alive at all, either.
Oh, and they don't go away with disinfectant or cooking..
Sleep well.
[–]ChickenFriedRiceee 30 points31 points32 points  (0 children)
God fucking damnit. Why do I always do this. I knew not to read this, I knew I would regret it, and I knew I’m about to go to bed. And I still did it. I never learn. Ignorance is bliss, I want my ignorance back!
[–]lmwk4gcc 11 points12 points13 points  (0 children)
Yep. Prions haunt my nightmares. Including when I found out about kuru
[–]barondelongueuil 16 points17 points18 points  (2 children)
I mean it’s terrifying to think about but it’s also about 1-2 cases per million people a year.
That’s barely any more likely than the statistical likelihood of dying in a plane crash.
Unless it specifically runs in your family I don’t see why you’d spend any time worrying about it.
[–]intersnatches 4 points5 points6 points  (1 child)
Username and profile pic are impeccable
[–]jery007 0 points1 point2 points  (0 children)
Yay, I get it too!
[–]KSmegal 329 points330 points331 points  (16 children)
My friend’s grandfather died of CJD. She isn’t allowed to give blood in case it is genetic. She just lives her life knowing that at any moment she could develop symptoms.
[–]Impossible_Command23 55 points56 points57 points  (6 children)
In the UK you can't donate blood if you've received a transfusion after 1980, because of an outbreak of CJD we had ("mad cow disease") peaking in the 90s bit about it here Although it's only been recognised to have happened 5 times from blood transfusion. The incubation period is so long, you can go decades without knowing you have it
[–]eanhctbe 17 points18 points19 points  (3 children)
Was the same in the States, but I think they lifted that ban somewhat recently. I guess they assume if we haven't had it activate in the last 40 years, we're probably okay?
[–]Chateaudelait 12 points13 points14 points  (2 children)
In California, I am still not allowed to donate blood because I lived in Europe and specifically the Uk for a year during this time. I cannot donate until the ban has been rescinded.
[–]eanhctbe 7 points8 points9 points  (1 child)
I would recheck. The FDA rescinded that guideline under certain circumstances a couple of years ago, but it wasn't widely publicized... I just heard in the last few months.
ETA - I was previously banned as well.
[–]Jen_Nozra 2 points3 points4 points  (0 children)
Ahh that's awesome! I am British and used to give blood in the UK but wasn't able to give blood when I moved here (California) a few years ago. I'll look into it again (when I'm not growing a human).
[–]Historical_Boss2447 8 points9 points10 points  (0 children)
Here in Finland, you can’t donate blood if you stayed in the UK for longer than 6 months during 1980-1996
[–]canijustbelancelot 2 points3 points4 points  (0 children)
I receive IVIG and my heart dropped for a second reading this. It sort of clicked in my head that “oh shit, of course that can happen”. Fingers crossed I guess.
[–]ambersavampire 14 points15 points16 points  (3 children)
There's a tst your friend can have done that will check. My mom died of Spontaneous CJD and my sister got tested to see if it was genetic. It wasn't.
[–]KSmegal 3 points4 points5 points  (2 children)
Good to know! I’m glad your sister doesn’t have it.
[–]ambersavampire 5 points6 points7 points  (1 child)
Tell your friend! Insurance can cover it. They may not for your friend because it wasn't direct family (mom, dad, or sibling) but having the peace of mind knowing I'm not going to die randomly from CJD is worth every penny.
[–]KSmegal 1 point2 points3 points  (0 children)
Absolutely! I’ll definitely let her know. If nothing else, her dad could be tested and go from there.
[–]Interesting_Wish2202 9 points10 points11 points  (4 children)
I was under the impression it’s not genetic?
[–]KSmegal 49 points50 points51 points  (3 children)
There are 4 main types of CJD. One of them is familial/inherited.
[–]ThracianScum 1 point2 points3 points  (2 children)
If it’s inherited why would they be worried about it spreading through blood?
[–]KSmegal 5 points6 points7 points  (0 children)
I don’t know. I don’t make the rules.
[–]sp0kes5 6 points7 points8 points  (0 children)
Genetic CJD is caused by a mutation in the prion protein, which is a normal cellular protein expressed in the CNS. under normal circumstances the prion protein folds in a non pathogenic way (taking on its normal structure as a transmembrane protein). However, one configuration it can fold into is an extremely stable, infectious structure. Although this pathogenic form is highly thermodynamically stable, there is a large free energy barrier that must be crossed to fold in this way, making spontaneous pathogenic folding extremely rare (though it can randomly happen, extremely rarely: this is sporadic CJD). Genetic mutations can make the transition to the pathogenic form much more energetically favorable, making it almost certain that those with mutations will eventually acquire aggregates of the pathogenic form. The pathogenic structure of the prion protein is so dangerous as once it exists, it serves as a “template” to help other normal prion proteins to covert to this pathogenic form. Inherited (genetic) CJD can therefore infect people with normal prion protein, as transmission of the “template” pathogenic protein will convert the normal prion protein present in all of us to the pathogenic state.
[–]GoodGoneGeek 66 points67 points68 points  (2 children)
“Deadly Feasts” is an excellent book about the discovery and mechanisms of prions for anyone interested
[–]Impossible_Command23 2 points3 points4 points  (1 child)
Thanks! I'm going to definitely check that out. Seems accessible for the typical layperson after looking it up. Been kind of obsessed with various pandemics/epidemics since I was a kid, which moved onto prion diseases
As an aside he also wrote "The Making of the Atomic Bomb", for anyone who maybe saw Oppenheimer and wants to read more into it
[–]GoodGoneGeek 2 points3 points4 points  (0 children)
Super accessible, and really engaging too!
[–]SinVerguenza04 44 points45 points46 points  (0 children)
Like prion disease? Yeah, it’s gnarly.
[–]Impossible_Command23 10 points11 points12 points  (0 children)
Fatal Familial Insomnia is a "fun" one to read about if anyone is interested. Youtube is blocked where I am at the moment so I'm not sure, but there used to be a few small documentaries and interviews with families it ran in. Extremely rare but extremely terrifying
[–]bunnycakes1228 9 points10 points11 points  (0 children)
They are sooo interesting
[–]good_god_lemon1 8 points9 points10 points  (0 children)
Just read about kuru yesterday! I don’t plan to ingest any human brains any time soon but it still unnerved me.
[–]hicksw5911 6 points7 points8 points  (0 children)
My grandma had very, very fast dementia going on years back and the doctors were like uhhh, this is way too fast for Alzheimer’s. They tested her for everything under the sun, and Huntington’s disease was one of the last tests they did. Luckily, she was negative for that gene but during all of this I was researching and I was CONVINCED she had spontaneous CJD.. like I just knew it. Turns out, her dementia was drug induced (she took methadone for years written out by a quack doctor) but ever since then…. Prion diseases are also my Roman Empire. Glad I’m not alone lol.
[–]Ratstail91 4 points5 points6 points  (0 children)
For me it's strokes - My mum has had multiple, and they come out of nowhere.
She's currently recovering the use of half her body... I don't think I could survive that.
[–]The_Mother_ 6 points7 points8 points  (0 children)
Prions are always my favorite when talking about neurodegenerative disorders. I drive my daughter crazy talking about prions sometimes.
[–][deleted] 3 points4 points5 points  (0 children)
Same, people worry about viruses, fungus, and bacterial infections. One's body can at least fight back against those. Prions mean ya dead bro.
[–]Kalurael 2 points3 points4 points  (1 child)
I saw something the other day saying they are ridiculously stable and can't be broken by simply cooking first
[–]8Jennyx 5 points6 points7 points  (0 children)
lol oh boy. Cooking? Oh no they can survive pretty much everything short of the heat death of the universe. They’ve been found in the uninhabitable environments.
[–]CassandraVindicated 2 points3 points4 points  (0 children)
Prions always reminded me of those weird math answers (like 1234xY = 4321) that just work because that's the way the numbers play out. There's no great mystery behind it, nothing to be found by digging deeper. It's just a curiosity that you noticed.
Well, billions of proteins fold incorrectly everyday, you just happened to have stumbled across one that is stable and currently killing you.
[–]tumblingtumblweed 1 point2 points3 points  (0 children)
Honestly same! Learned about them several years ago and I just can’t believe they exist, the damage they cause is just unreal
[–]APladyleaningS 1 point2 points3 points  (0 children)
I think a lot about how dementia and Alzheimers cases are exploding and how many of those are actually CJD.
[–]lfthoia 1 point2 points3 points  (0 children)
THIS
[–]herriotact 1 point2 points3 points  (0 children)
What are prions?
[–]Sea-Apple-5065 1 point2 points3 points  (0 children)
Everytime my husband can't fall asleep he will say "I think I have prions" and I'm like babe please don't
[–]13curseyoukhan 1 point2 points3 points  (1 child)
Prions are my Roman Empire is a fantastic sentence.
[–]8Jennyx 0 points1 point2 points  (0 children)
Thanks 🥰.
[–]A-Ok_Armadillo 0 points1 point2 points  (0 children)
Glad I don’t eat venison.
[–]scribble23 0 points1 point2 points  (0 children)
Same here. I haven't consumed beef or beef products since the early '90s as a result of the CJD thing. Although actually, I never hear of people dying of CJD here in the UK any more? Hopefully it's because the industry brought in safeguards, so the forecast explosion of cases didn't happen. I still regularly see American redditors commenting that their relatives have died of it though.
[–]ONE-EYE-OPTIC -1 points0 points1 point  (0 children)
And how quickly.
[–]ilikeyourhair10 -1 points0 points1 point  (0 children)
Prison
[–]NoEntertainment6246 0 points1 point2 points  (0 children)
Ok, but have you started emptying plastic bottles of water? Mind blown
[–]Renaissance_Slacker 0 points1 point2 points  (0 children)
I remember years ago there was a scare in Britain that millions of people might have been exposed to prions from a contaminated meat packing plant. It was a false alarm but things were tense for a while.
[–]Araethor 0 points1 point2 points  (0 children)
I thought this is largely only related to mad cow disease which is very rare? I.e. something like 1 in 1,000,000 humans. With a very small number related to genetics, something like 1 in 15,000,000? No?
[–]Ismhelpstheistgodown 0 points1 point2 points  (0 children)
40 years after living in England for 10 months I still can’t donate blood. Prions.
[–]techno-ninja 0 points1 point2 points  (0 children)
I have MS, so prions are very familiar to me
[–]mitchij2004 0 points1 point2 points  (0 children)
Had a friend die from CJD this year. Shit is lame man.
[–]Level10_Barbarian 0 points1 point2 points  (0 children)
I guess I'm an idiot, what's a prion? I'm scared to look it up myself.