From: sbharris@ix.netcom.com(Steven B. Harris)
Newsgroups: sci.med
Subject: Re: Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease and Cadaver-Derived Growth Hormones
Date: 22 Jul 1998 05:49:54 GMT

In <1998072123103500.TAA00489@ladder03.news.aol.com> debbieoney@aol.com
(DebbieOney) writes:

>In the United States and throughout the world people get CJD through 3
>means: familial (genetic), sporadic (don't know how) and iatrogenic
>(through a medical procedure such as cadaver-derived growth hormone (GH)
>treatments, contaminated surgical equipment and dura mater and cornea
>transplants.)

Comment:

   Plus one more.  Pathologists have long been at higher risk for CJD,
and it may be that this is not something as dumb as cuts on the hands
plus handling brains without gloves.  Another possibility is that
"brain mist" getting into the air when the skull is opened (hard to do
without nicking the brain, even by an experienced diener), gets into
the nose and contacts olfactory neurons which penetrate the cribiform
plate in your nose (this is essentially a little bit of brain hanging
out into the air to catch molecules; only this one is a BAD molecule to
catch).  Once latched on, the prion protein may do its magic and start
causing precursor proteins in neurons to start sticking to each other
in the wrong way, like growth of a crystal. CJD.  The disease burns up
the olfactory nerves like a lit fuse, and when it reaches the
pathologist's brain, he forgets who his family is and begins to vote
for democrats.

   To prevent such horrible stuff, OSHA has no begun to mandate major
airflow changes around autopsy tables.

                                        Steve Harris, M.D.