SEAC EFFECT OF AGE ON THE PATHOGENESIS OF TRANSMISSIBLE SPONGIFORM ENCEPHALOPATHIES

SEAC 103/2

EFFECT OF AGE ON THE PATHOGENESIS OF TRANSMISSIBLE SPONGIFORM ENCEPHALOPATHIES

ISSUE

1. Most clinical cases of variant CJD (vCJD) have occurred in young adults. The reasons behind this apparent age-related susceptibility are uncertain. A recent paper by Brown et al in the Journal of Immunology, (attached at annex A), reports the findings of a study in mice, which suggest that age related decline in the functioning of follicular dendritic cells might impair TSE pathogenesis.

STUDY DESIGN

2. The study used C57BL/Dk mice challenged with ME7 scrapie brain homongenate. The mice were assessed weekly for signs of clinical disease and culled at a standard clinical endpoint. Survival times were recorded for mice that did not develop clinical signs of disease and were culled when they showed signs of intercurrent disease.

FINDINGS

3. This study finds that early TSE agent accumulation in the spleens of aged mice was significantly impaired compared to that in young adults. Furthermore, following peripheral exposure, none of the aged mice developed clinical TSE disease during their lifespans, although most mice displayed histopathological signs of TSE disease in their brains.

4. Comparison of follicular dendritic cell networks (FDCs) in the spleens of aged and young adult mice, showed a highly significant reduction in the total number of PrPC expressing FDCs in aged mice when compared with those of young adults. 5. The data imply that the reduced status of FDCs in aged mice significantly impairs the early TSE agent accumulation in

© SEAC 2009

lymphoid tissues and subsequent neuroinvasion. Furthermore, the inefficient neuroinvasion in aged individuals may lead to significant levels of subclinical TSE disease in the population.

BACKGROUND

6. Following peripheral exposure, many TSE agents accumulate first in lymphoid tissues before spreading to the Central Nervous System, where they cause neurodegeneration. Early TSE agent accumulation upon FDCs in lymphoid follicles appears to be critical for efficient neuroinvasion.1

7. Most clinical cases of vCJD have occurred in young adults; the median age at onset of disease was 26 years and the median age at death 28 years (the corresponding ages for sporadic CJD are 67 and 67). The youngest case of vCJD was aged 12 years at onset, while the oldest case of vCJD was aged 74 years.2

ADVICE SOUGHT

8. The committee is invited to note the findings of this study.

SEAC SECRETARIAT

NOVEMBER 2009

1 Klein, M. A., R. Frigg, A. J. Raeber, E. Flechsig, I. Hegyi, R. M. Zinkernagel, C. Weissmann, and A. Aguzzi. 1998. PrP expression in B lymphocytes is not required for prion neuroinvasion. Nat. Med. 4: 1429–1433; Brown, K. L., K. Stewart, D. Ritchie, N. A. Mabbott, A. Williams, H. Fraser, W. I. Morrison, and M. E. Bruce. 1999. Scrapie replication in lymphoid tissuesdepends on PrP-expressing follicular dendritic cells. Nat. Med. 5: 1308–1312. 2 National CJD Surveillance Unit, Seventeenth Annual Report, 2008, p.13. ©


http://www.seac.gov.uk/papers/103-2.pdf



WHO WILL WATCH THE CHILDREN for CJD over the next 5 decades ?

FOR 4 years, the USDA fed dead stock downer cows, the most high risk cattle for mad cow disease and other dangerous pathogens to children all across the USA via the USDA certified dead stock downer cow school lunch program...


SCHOOL LUNCH PROGRAM FROM DOWNER CATTLE UPDATE


http://downercattle.blogspot.com/2009/05/who-will-watch-children.html



http://downercattle.blogspot.com/



FNS All Regions Affected School Food Authorities By State United States Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service National School Lunch Program March 24, 2008 School Food Authorities Affected by Hallmark/Westland Meat Packing Co. Beef Recall February 2006 – February 2008


http://www.fns.usda.gov/fns/safety/Hallmark-Westland_byState.pdf



or try ;



http://www.fns.usda.gov/fns/safety/Hallmark-Westland_byState.pdf#xml=http://65.216.150.153/texis/search/pdfhi.txt?query=FNS+All+Regions+Affected+School+Food+Authorities+By+State+United+States+Department+of+Agriculture+Food+and+Nutrition+Service+National+School+Lunch+Program+&pr=FNS&prox=page&rorder=500&rprox=500&rdfreq=500&rwfreq=500&rlead=500&rdepth=0&sufs=0&order=r&cq=&id=4ace90e711





or,


go to this site ;


http://www.fns.usda.gov/fns/




left hand corner search ;


Hallmark/Westland Meat Packing Co. Beef Recall




your should get this ;



http://65.216.150.153/texis/search?pr=FNS




1 through 1 of 1 matching documents, best matches first. sort by date 1: Hallmark - Westland SFA Reporting by State - 3-24-2008.xls Lunch Program March 24, 2008 School Food Authorities Affected by Hallmark/Westland Meat Packing Co. Beef Recall February 2006 - February 2008 The U.S. Department of Agriculture ... http://www.fns.usda.gov/...ety/Hallmark-Westland_byState.pdf







Approximately 50.3 million pounds of the beef recalled by HallmarkNVestland went to federal nutrition programs, including the National School Lunch Program, and of those 50.3 million pounds, about 19.6 million pounds had already been consumed at the time the recall was issued. Release No. 0054.08, USDA, Transcript of Technical Briefing - HallmarldWestland Meat Packing Company (Feb. 21, 2008).

9. HSUS members that consume meat products, including beef products, are concerned about eating adulterated meat products and the health risks associated with such adulterated meat. Specifically, they are concerned that downed cattle are at an increased risk for harboring and transmitting BSE prions and other pathogens. The consumption of meat products derived from BSE-infected cattle is believed to cause a human neurological disease known as variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease ("vCJD"). The disease is progressive, invariably fatal, and there is no known effective treatment or cure. Downed cattle may also be at higher risk for harboring other foodborne transmissible pathogens, including E. coli 0157:H7, Salmonella, and anthrax. By allowing downed cattle to enter the food supply, USDA's regulatory loophole injures members of The HSUS by placing them at an increased risk of contracting these food-borne illnesses each time they eat beef. 10. Members of The HSUS are also concerned about the meat products provided to their children through the National School Lunch Program. More than 31 million school children receive lunches through the program each school day. To assist states in providing healthful, low-cost or free meals, USDA provides states with various commodities including ground beef. As evidenced by the HallmarkNVestland investigation and recall, the potential for downed animals to make their way into the National School Lunch Program is neither speculative nor hypothetical.


http://biotech.law.lsu.edu/cases/FDA/hsus-v-schafer-usda-complaint.pdf



United States of America Ex rel. The Humane Society of the United States v. Hallmark Meat Packing Company, Westland Meat Company Inc. (Downed animal abuse/government fraud)

Court or Agency: United States District Court for the Central District of California Plaintiff(s): United States of America Ex rel. The Humane Society of the United States Defendant: Hallmark Meat Packing Company, Westland Meat Company Inc. HSUS Counsel: Peter J. Petersan, Leana Stormont Outside Counsel: Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy LLP Status: In Briefing

Federal court action under the False Claims Act alleging that Westland/Hallmark defrauded the federal government by violating the terms of its school lunch program contracts requiring the humane handling of animals. The lawsuit was the result of an investigation by The HSUS which exposed the facility's mistreatment of animals too sick or injured to walk and led to the largest meat recall in the nation’s history.


http://www.hsus.org/in_the_courts/docket/us_hallmark.html



http://www.law.gmu.edu/assets/files/academics/schedule/2009/fall/HENRYGREEN_AnimalLaw20090818.pdf



http://www.hsus.org/farm/news/ournews/dept_of_justice_hallmark_050409.html



FOIA

http://www.fsis.usda.gov/PDF/FOIA_Requests_0308.pdf



"California Firm Recalls Beef Products". USDA. February 17, 2008.

http://www.fsis.usda.gov/PDF/Recall_005-2008_Release.pdf



AP (February 17, 2008). "USDA recalls 143 million pounds of beef". MSNBC.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23212514/



"Statement by Secretary of Agriculture Ed Schafer Regarding Animal Cruelty Charges Filed Against Employees at Hallmark/Westland Meat Packing Company". USDA. February 15, 2008.


http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/!ut/p/_s.7_0_A/7_0_1OB?contentidonly=true&contentid=2008/02/0044.xml



"USDA Q&A". USDA. February 19, 2008.


http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/usdahome?contentidonly=true&contentid=Recall_Information.xml



The Case is captioned as United States of America ex rel. The Humane Society of the United States v. Hallmark Meat Packing Company; Westland Meat Company, Inc.


http://www.hsus.org/farm/news/ournews/dept_of_justice_hallmark_050409.html



http://www.econ.iastate.edu/classes/econ362/hallam/NewspaperArticles/DownerCows.pdf



Thursday, September 24, 2009

(09-24) 15:00 PDT LOS ANGELES (AP) --

A Southern California meatpacking plant that supplied beef to the nation's school lunch program slaughtered stumbling, potentially contaminated cows for four years before undercover video of animal abuse prompted a massive beef recall, federal court filings say...

http://downercattle.blogspot.com/2009/09/suit-meatpacker-used-downer-cows-for-4.html



also ;

http://www.usda.gov/oig/webdocs/24601-07-KC.pdf



>>>USDA officials cited three other interlocking safeguards that protect the public even if other safeguards, such as ante-mortem inspection, should fail; these safeguards are the removal of Specified Risk Materials (SRM),5 BSE surveillance testing, and the feed ban.6 Under the Federal Meat Inspection Act (FMIA),7<<< href="http://madcowfeed.blogspot.com/2009/11/bse-feed-recall-misbranding-of-product.html">http://madcowfeed.blogspot.com/2009/11/bse-feed-recall-misbranding-of-product.html



Friday, September 4, 2009

FOIA REQUEST ON FEED RECALL PRODUCT 429,128 lbs. feed for ruminant animals may have been contaminated with prohibited material Recall # V-258-2009

http://madcowfeed.blogspot.com/2009/09/foia-request-on-feed-recall-product.html



Saturday, August 29, 2009

FOIA REQUEST FEED RECALL 2009 Product may have contained prohibited materials Bulk Whole Barley, Recall # V-256-2009

http://madcowfeed.blogspot.com/2009/08/foia-request-feed-recall-2009-product.html



2009 UPDATE ON ALABAMA AND TEXAS MAD COWS 2005 and 2006

http://bse-atypical.blogspot.com/2006/08/bse-atypical-texas-and-alabama-update.html



"Everything they did on the Texas cow makes everything USDA did before 2005 suspect," Brown said. ...snip...end

http://www.upi.com/ConsumerHealthDaily/view.php?StoryID=20060315-055557-1284r



PAUL BROWN COMMENT TO ME ON THIS ISSUE

Tuesday, September 12, 2006 11:10 AM

"Actually, Terry, I have been critical of the USDA handling of the mad cow issue for some years, and with Linda Detwiler and others sent lengthy detailed critiques and recommendations to both the USDA and the Canadian Food Agency."

http://madcowtesting.blogspot.com/



see full text sporadic CJD the big lie;

http://lists.ifas.ufl.edu/cgi-bin/wa.exe?A2=ind0705&L=sanet-mg&T=0&F=&S=&P=135027



PLUS

http://cjdmadcowbaseoct2007.blogspot.com/2008/07/novel-human-disease-with-abnormal-prion.html



Sunday, August 10, 2008

A New Prionopathy OR more of the same old BSe and sporadic CJD

http://creutzfeldt-jakob-disease.blogspot.com/2008/08/new-prionopathy-or-more-of-same-old-bse.html



HUMAN and ANIMAL TSE Classifications i.e. mad cow disease and the UKBSEnvCJD only theory

http://www.regulations.gov/search/Regs/contentStreamer?objectId=090000648027c28e&disposition=attachment&contentType=pdf



AS I SAID BEFORE, WHO WATCH THE CHILDREN FOR CJD FOR THE NEXT 5 DECADES ???


Thursday, October 15, 2009

Cell Study Explains Why Younger People More At Risk Of Variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (vCJD)

http://downercattle.blogspot.com/2009/10/cell-study-explains-why-younger-people.html




TSS