The Silent Threat: Understanding Variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (vCJD) and Its Impact on Blood Donation

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ireti769.1011 months ago4 min read

Have you ever wondered why certain people, especially those who lived in the UK between 1980 and 1996, are prohibited from donating blood in various countries, including the United States? Let's delve into the history of this restriction and explore the harrowing tale of Variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (vCJD), a rare and deadly brain disorder that sparked this precautionary measure.

The ominous story begins in December 1984 when an unassuming cow, labeled as number 133, began exhibiting symptoms of head trauma and coordination loss. Tragically, this cow succumbed to its mysterious ailment a few months later. It wasn't until September 27, 1985, that pathologists unveiled the unsettling truth – Cow 133 had died of Spongiform encephalopathy, later christened Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy or, as we commonly know it, mad cow disease.

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Flickr

Years later, scientist on the Spongiform Encephalopathy Advisory Committee talked about the connection between the transmission from cows to cows and how it had a similar disease in humans. There were British beef banning, and banning blood donations. Early predictions estimated that thousands of people would die from the disease, but only a few people have died till date but that hasn't stopped the blood transfusion ban because at least 1 in 2000 people have the abnormal protein that causes the disease and are asymptomatic.

When Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy is transmitted to humans, it is referred to as Variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD) which is a type of brain disease acompanied with bahavioral problems, painful sensation, and psychiatric problems. There are other types of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease depending on how they are contracted. They include Sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease with an unknown cause, Familial/Inherited Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease which is genetic, and Iatrogenic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease which is gotten from a medical setting.

Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease is caused by a misfolded gene proteins known as prions, and these proteins can transfer their genetic error to other proteins inducing them to become bad and generate new infection. Proteins are an important part of our body's chemistry which is responsible for the structure, function, and regulation of our tissues and organs. Made up of amino acids, and are attached in folded chains as each protein has specific shape and any mistake in their folding can lead to misfold shapes leading to the creation of an abnormal prion and the misfolded shapes of prions can cause a lot of things including brain damage.

The misfolding of prions can result in various medical conditions, including cystic fibrosis and Tay-Sachs disease. In the brain, plaque buildup occurs, ultimately causing brain cell death and the formation of holes in affected areas.

With variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, psychological symptoms that affects the behavior and personality first show up, then neurological symptoms develops next which would include numbness, dizziness, slurred speech, and vision problems. This can get worse as the patient starts to lose the ability to communicate at all, and then it can progress to death.

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Picryl

Variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease actually spreads through food where animals are fed the remains of other animals as well as mixing their food with bones and meat of infected animals. Also humans who ate beefs of animals that suffered from Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease also suffered from the disease. Humans can also get Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease from blood transfusion and this lead to the banning of blood transfusion from people who have lived in the UK within 1980 and 1996 as there is no way to test if a person suffers from Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease unless during autopsy where the brain tissue is analyzed. Diagnosing patients is usually done by looking at the symptoms and via MRI to ascertain the abnormalities typical of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease and this isn't conclusive.

Since prions are usually found in the brain and not in the blood it is very difficult to identify via blood test but scientist have began using plasma of presymptomatic and symtomatic people with variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease to detect prions and a case study showed that it was able to identify variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in patients before they began manifesting symptoms of the disease.

Variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease serves as a poignant reminder of the unseen dangers lurking within our healthcare system and our health where blood donation bans for individuals who lived in the UK between 1980 and 1996 is a precautionary measure taken to prevent the transmission of this dreadful disease. While these measures have been taken, there might be hope of lifting bans with further research and the development of advanced testing methods. The current tests are still new and works need to be done for us to reach a conclusive point.