prion disease

noun

: any of a group of spongiform encephalopathies that are caused by prions and that include bovine spongiform encephalopathy, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, kuru, scrapie, and variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease

called also transmissible spongiform encephalopathy

Examples of prion disease in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The team of experts is planning for a potential outbreak, focusing on public health surveillance, lab capacity, prion disease diagnostics, surveillance of livestock and wildlife, risk communication, and education and outreach. —Jim Robbin, Twin Cities, 7 Feb. 2025

The prion disease, first identified in a Colorado research facility in the 1970s, has been making headlines for decades. —Christine Peterson, Outdoor Life, 25 Dec. 2024

Chronic wasting disease is a prion disease — a rare, neurodegenerative disorder caused by misfolded proteins, called prions, that damage brain tissue. —Jake Parks, Discover Magazine, 5 Nov. 2024

The letter also notes that lions help curb the spread among ungulates of chronic wasting disease, a highly contagious prion disease, by removing sick animals. —Byhannah Richter, science.org, 1 Nov. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1986, in the meaning defined above

Medical Definition

prion disease

noun

: any of a group of spongiform encephalopathies that are caused and transmitted by prions and that include bovine spongiform encephalopathy, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, fatal familial insomnia, Gerstmann-Sträussler-Scheinker syndrome, kuru, scrapie, and variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease

called also transmissible spongiform encephalopathy