Aguzzi
Fakultäten » Medizinische Fakultät » Neuropathologie, Institut für » Prof. Dr. Adriano Aguzzi » Aguzzi
Completed research project
| Title / Titel | Characterization of prion strains present in Swiss Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease victims | ||
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| Abstract (PDF, 14 KB) | |||
| Summary / Zusammenfassung | Switzerland is currently experiencing a unexplained and worrisome increase in the incidence of CJD. This has prompted us to design the following proposal. Specific aim 1: It is essential to evaluate which prion strains are present in Swiss CJD cases from the years 2001 and 2002. These studies will allow to formulate reasonable hypotheses on the origin of the Swiss CJD epidemic, and will help defining measures aimed at minimizing the risk of prion transmission. Specific aim 2: The functionality of newly developed tools such as the conformation-dependent immunoassay, prion aggregate buoyancy assay (PABA) and the use transgenic mice will be tested for their ability to discriminate prion strains. Specific aim 3: The biophysical phenomena underlying the different prion strains are not understood. We wish to compare routinely used methods for strain typing to each other, and to newly developed methods for strain typing. Besides addressing the basic science of prions, we will include technological aspects in the evaluation, such as reproducibility, cost effectiveness and sensitivity. |
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| Keywords / Suchbegriffe | Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, prion strains, species barrier, BSE; scrapie | ||
| Project leadership and contacts / Projektleitung und Kontakte |
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| Other links to external web pages | http://www.neuropathologie.usz.ch/ | ||
| Funding source(s) / Unterstützt durch |
SNF (Programm NFP), Other Public Sources (e.g. Federal or Cantonal Agencies) SNF, BAG, BVET |
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| In collaboration with / In Zusammenarbeit mit |
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| Duration of Project / Projektdauer | Jun 2003 to May 2007 |