University of Liverpool - CJD breakthrough

The treatment of the human form of mad cow disease could be revolutionised by scientists at the University of Liverpool. They have determined the atomic structure of the binding between a brain protein and an antibody that could treat variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD). vCJD is part of a family of neurodegenerative disorders known as prion diseases, which can develop when a naturally occurring protein called PrP comes into contact with infected prions. Antibodies that "stick" to PrP could treat vCJD.