3 ms·

> ... Prions are both 100% fatal... I'd bet they aren't. Fatal once visible symptoms are present, probably. COVID had a CFR that was beyond horrible while the

by roenxi 2y ago

> ... Prions are both 100% fatal... I'd bet they aren't. Fatal once visible symptoms are present, probably. COVID had a CFR that was beyond horrible while the only cases that they were tracking were the ones that had made it to hospital. 100% CFR is certainly possible, but unless we have cheap ways of measuring prevalence it seems improbable. There could be common prion diseases that have managed to fly under the radar so far.

ch4s3 2y ago
I think the underlying biology here is pretty well known. They bump around in your body causing proteins to misfold which cascades as badly folded proteins bump into other proteins and cause misfolding. This eventually kills you, because there's no immune mechanism to purge misfolded proteins or to correct them.
- Enginerrrd 2y ago
  Yes, but there's quite a bit of variation in how susceptible an individual's PrP is (genetic variation) to a particular strain of prion. That matters a LOT in terms of likelihood of getting infected, and duration of disease progression.
flobosg 2y ago
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_human_disease_case_fatality_rates#:~:text=Transmissible%20spongiform%20encephalopathy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_human_disease_case_fat...
- roenxi 2y ago
  Interpreting one-link comments is an excercise in creativity, but making some guesses: 1) You didn't check the source for the CFR. Wikipedia links an article that doesn't mention CFR or even use the word fatal. And as recently as '08 they were discovering that what they thought was one disease is actually 2. 2) I just wrote a comment explaining why a 100% CFR would be precise but likely not accurate. In case you thought it was, take a moment to reflect that linking to a table where the CFR is 100% isn't a refutation. That number is probably precise but likely not accurate. We don't seem to be good at detecting "mild" prion diseases. 3) Even if by some miracle that table is accurate and precise ... that is one disease. If you want to bet that prions only cause one disease then you're welcome to - but I'm still willing to bet that there are other prion diseases to be discovered that are less lethal.

by roenxi 2y ago

ch4s3 2y ago

I think the underlying biology here is pretty well known. They bump around in your body causing proteins to misfold which cascades as badly folded proteins bump into other proteins and cause misfolding. This eventually kills you, because there's no immune mechanism to purge misfolded proteins or to correct them.

Enginerrrd 2y ago
Yes, but there's quite a bit of variation in how susceptible an individual's PrP is (genetic variation) to a particular strain of prion. That matters a LOT in terms of likelihood of getting infected, and duration of disease progression.

flobosg 2y ago

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_human_disease_case_fatality_rates#:~:text=Transmissible%20spongiform%20encephalopathy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_human_disease_case_fat...

roenxi 2y ago
Interpreting one-link comments is an excercise in creativity, but making some guesses: 1) You didn't check the source for the CFR. Wikipedia links an article that doesn't mention CFR or even use the word fatal. And as recently as '08 they were discovering that what they thought was one disease is actually 2. 2) I just wrote a comment explaining why a 100% CFR would be precise but likely not accurate. In case you thought it was, take a moment to reflect that linking to a table where the CFR is 100% isn't a refutation. That number is probably precise but likely not accurate. We don't seem to be good at detecting "mild" prion diseases. 3) Even if by some miracle that table is accurate and precise ... that is one disease. If you want to bet that prions only cause one disease then you're welcome to - but I'm still willing to bet that there are other prion diseases to be discovered that are less lethal.