INTRODUCTION
Degenerative cerebral diseases affecting humans and other animals have
been observed for many years. A contagious group of these diseases in vertebrates
is known as the transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs). In the mid-1980s,
an epidemic of one of these diseases, bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE),
was recognized in Britain. Transmission to humans was suspected, and subsequently
a more virulent form of the disease was recognized in cattle and humans. This
has raised considerable public concern about the safety of bovine-derived
products and caused a dramatic reduction in consumption of these products.
The frequency of cosmetic bovine collagen injections has decreased recently
in Britain and elsewhere in Europe.1
The most obvious source of possible human exposure to BSE in the cosmetic
world is from bovine material, especially injectable collagen. In addition,
some practitioners2 have questioned the possibility
of human-to-human transmission by the human serum albumin (HSA) . . . [Full Text of this Article]
WHAT ARE PRIONS?
CLASSIC CJD
VARIANT CJD
ROUTES OF DISEASE AGENT TRANSMISSION
Cow to Cow
Cow to Human
IS BEEF SAFE TO EAT?
Injectable Bovine Collagen
Zyderm I, Zyderm II, Zyplast
Artecoll
Human to Human
Ingestion Kuru
NEUROSURGICAL PROCEDURES
Iatrogenic Transmission
Tissue Bank Hormones
Ophthalmological Procedures
Tissue Bank–Derived Injectable Human Collagen
Occupational Transmission
Potential HSA Transmission
PREVENTION OF ACQUIRED HUMAN PRION DISEASE (TSE)
ARE PRIONS CURRENTLY PRESENT IN OUR COSMETIC INJECTABLES?
