Supportive Medical Care as Prion Disease Treatment

1. Supportive Medical Care as Prion Disease Treatment Prion disease is caused by prion protein that activates the normal protein of the brain of humans and animals, and they spread abnormally. To date, medical science could not bring out any curable solution for the disease but can slow the spread of the disease. There is no such prion disease treatment other than supportive care like: Medication that will take care of the psychological symptoms with some sedatives and anti-depressants Pain relief medicines. Do not let the muscle spasms aggravate with the help of drugs like clonazepam and sodium valproate. The prion patients may require assistance in their daily activities. In the advanced stage, the patients will need a feeding tube for their food intake. Scientists will work on it. With early detection and some medication, the medical experts can slow the spread of the abnormal proteins but continue their research to bring out an effective prion disease treatment. There are some effective therapies with the use of anti-prion antibodies, which will obstruct the antibodies of abnormal PrP. Medical experts try to keep the patients as safe and comfortable as possible through the disease can drain the patients completely. The prion protein can be destroyed by denaturing them at the point with the help of heat at 900 degrees Fahrenheit when the proteins will no longer misfold abnormally. Long incubation of prion protein It is not easy to gather the prion disease symptoms too early within the patient, human or animal. It lives in incubation for a longer period. Once the symptoms are visible, they progress like wildfire, and the situation for patients worsens rapidly. There are some common symptoms of the disease: Disorientation or confusion Difficulty in judgment, thinking, and loss of memory Personality change loke apathy, depression, and agitation.

2. Loss of coordination Involuntary muscle spasm. Difficult or slurred speech Insomnia Blindness or impaired vision  Misfolding makes the protein non-functional Prions force the normal protein to fold in a three-dimensional shape that is non-functional and remains unaffected by the breakdown. The question is, how they can be so strong to completely collapse the nervous system? These prions force the protein in the brain and the nervous system to misfold, and in this process, it completely cripples the function of the brain and nervous system. Prion protein misfolding diseases are not easily diagnosed because the symptoms are very similar to other neurodegenerative disorders. Hence the only way the doctors can diagnose is through a brain biopsy after death. There are medical experts in the US who can diagnose prion disease with the help of other tests, symptoms, and medical history. Some common medical tests that may help in diagnosis are: MRI will give a clear picture of the brain and help them understand the changes occurring in the brain. Cerebrospinal Fluid testing may be done to understand the level of neurodegeneration. Some 5 to seven years back, this test is conducted especially to understand and mark the human prion disease. Electroencephalography (EEG) is another method that can record the electrical activity of the brain and medical experts are able to observe the abnormal pattern that is occurring due to prion disease.