Kuru (disease)

Kuru (disease)

Infobox_Disease
Name = Kuru


Caption =
DiseasesDB = 31861
ICD10 = ICD10|A|81|8|a|80
ICD9 = ICD9|046.0
ICDO =
OMIM =
MedlinePlus = 001379
eMedicineSubj = med
eMedicineTopic = 1248
MeshID = D007729

Kuru is a disease which affects the brain. It was endemic among the Fore tribe of Papua New Guinea and was universally fatal. It is characterized by headaches, joint pains and shaking of the limbs. It is believed to be caused by prions and is related to Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.cite journal | author= Collinge J, Whitfield J, McKintosh E, et al | title =Kuru in the 21st century—an acquired human prion disease with very long incubation periods | journal =Lancet | volume =367 | issue =9528 | pages =2068–74 | publisher = | date =Jun 2006 | pmid=16798390 | doi =10.1016/S0140-6736(06)68930-7 ] It is best known for the epidemic that occurred in Papua New Guinea in the middle of the twentieth century. [ [http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/kuru/kuru.htm Kuru Information Page: National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) ] ] The word "kuru" means "trembling with fear" in the language of the Fore people, those most commonly afflicted with the disease. [http://www.emedicine.com/med/topic1248.htm eMedicine - Kuru : Article by Paul A Janson ] ] It is also known as the "laughing sickness" due to the pathologic bursts of laughter the patient displays when afflicted with the disease. [Purdey, Mark. " [http://www.ourcivilisation.com/madcow/kuru.htm Explanation of Kuru Disease] "] Trembling is present in almost all patients with transmissible spongiform encephalopathy.

History

Kuru was first noted in native people of New Guinea in 1957–1959. It was in the late 1950s that the full extent of the disease was realized, after it had reached large infection rates in the South Fore of the Okapa Subdistrict, though the agent was unknown. [ [http://www.as.ua.edu/ant/bindon/ant570/Papers/McGrath/McGrath.htm Kuru: The Dynamics of a Prion Disease ] ]

The disease was researched by Daniel Carleton Gajdusek who was awarded (with Baruch S. Blumberg) the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1976 for his work on it.

Transmission

It is believed by some that the disease spread easily in the Fore people due to their cannibalistic funeral practices. The dysmorphism evident in the infection rates—it was more prevalent in women and children—is because while the men of the village ate the flesh of the deceased, the women and children ate the brain, where the disease particles are concentrated. There is also the strong possibility that it was passed on to women and children more easily because they took on the task of cleaning relatives after death. [http://www.emedicine.com/med/topic1248.htm eMedicine - Kuru : Article by Paul A Janson ] ] With elimination of these practices, Kuru disappeared among the South Fore within a generation.

References


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно сделать НИР?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Kuru — or Kurus may be: * Kuru (kingdom), a powerful Indian kingdom during the Vedic period and later a republic during the Mahajanapada period ** Kuru Kingdom, a kingdom based on the historic Kuru kingdom in Indian epic literature * Kuru (disease), a… …   Wikipedia

  • kuru — /ˈkuru/ (say koohrooh) noun a fatal degenerative disease related to Creutzfeldt Jakob disease, characterised by loss of coordination and dementia, known mainly among the Fore people of Papua New Guinea; caused by their cannibalistic funeral… …  

  • kuru — [ko͞o′ro͞o΄] n. [< native name in New Guinea] a degenerative disease of the central nervous system, found among certain aborigines of the eastern highlands of New Guinea …   English World dictionary

  • Kuru — A slowly progressive fatal disease of the brain due to an infectious agent transmitted among people in Papua New Guinea by ritual cannibalism. Kuru is an infectious form of subacute spongiform encephalopathy. It was once thought to be due to a… …   Medical dictionary

  • kuru — /koor ooh/, n. Pathol. a fatal degenerative disease of the central nervous system characterized by progressive lack of coordination and dementia, known only among certain Melanesian peoples, esp. the Fore of New Guinea, and caused by a slow virus …   Universalium

  • Kuru (enfermedad) — Nativo de Nueva Guinea. El kuru (temblar de miedo) o muerte de la risa es una enfermedad neurodegenerativa e infecciosa causada por un prion. La palabra kuru significa en lengua aborigen temblor, con fiebre y frío , uno de los signos que… …   Wikipedia Español

  • Kuru Kingdom — The Kuru kingdom was ruled by the Kuru clan of kings. The Pandavas and Kauravas were Kurus. Other than these Kurus of India, there was another kingdom called Uttara Kurus to the north of Himalayas. The Kuru kingdom of India lay between Saraswati… …   Wikipedia

  • Kuru (maladie) — Pour les articles homonymes, voir Kuru. Le kuru est une maladie à prions (parmi lesquels on trouve la maladie de la vache folle), découverte en Nouvelle Guinée au début du XXe siècle. La maladie du kuru a été décrite dans la peuplade des… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Kuru (Krankheit) — Klassifikation nach ICD 10 A81.8 Kuru …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Disease — Illness or sickness often characterized by typical patient problems (symptoms) and physical findings (signs). Disruption sequence: The events that occur when a fetus that is developing normally is subjected to a destructive agent such as the… …   Medical dictionary

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”