LONDON, Jan. 3 A woman who died in England from "mad cow" disease had a genotype different than the particular genetic profile of those normally susceptible to the disease.
A 39-year-old woman died from Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease and her genetic profile varied from the genetic profile of previous patients susceptible to CJD, The Times of London reported Thursday.
Most examiners said they suspect the woman developed a CJD variant not caused by eating infected beef but, if it's found to be a new CJD variant associated with bovine spongiform encephalopathy, it may indicate a second susceptible human genotype.
The malfunction of proteins in the central nervous system in CJD occurs in the 40 percent of the human population who have two copies of the amino acid methionine in the proteins, known as MM genotype.
The discovery of CJD in different genotypes suggests the disease is affecting different genetic groups but the disease may be masked due to longer incubation times.
The genetic profile of the woman is published in the journal Archives of Neurology, but one scientist says, "the final conclusion remains open."
Copyright 2008 by UPI
