4 ms·

Can you be tested for prion disease?

• ethomson 10y ago
  Indeed, you can. What you cannot do, however, is remain alive to get the results.
  • gonvaled 10y ago
    Unless they are negative?
    • cortesoft 10y ago
      No, he is making a joke that you can only test by looking at slices of brain tissue (which require you to be dead to do)
      • nkrisc 10y ago
        You don't have to be dead when they start, but you will be when they finish.
  • andoon 10y ago
    I don't understand. Aren't biopsies of the brain possible? I still remember that episode of House MD, Euphoria.
  • rsync 10y ago
    "Indeed, you can. What you cannot do, however, is remain alive to get the results." If we're broadening our minds to all possibilities, it's worth pointing out that you can expose a third party to your as-yet-unconfirmed prion disease and then destructively test them, which would then allow you to test yourself while remaining alive.
• metasean 10y ago
  The last I heard the test can only be done during autopsy. (Because they're analyzing slices of brain tissue.)
• XFrequentist 10y ago
  Sure: http://www.nature.com/news/2011/110130/full/news.2011.59.html http://www.nature.com/news/2011/110130/full/news.2011.59.htm...