A Brain-Destroying Prion Disease Is Becoming More Common, Study Finds - Gizmodo

New research from Japan suggests that a rare brain-destroying disease caused by rogue prion proteins may be becoming more common—likely due to an aging population.

Prion diseases like CJD are caused by the misfolded form of naturally existing and thought to be harmless prion proteins in the brain.

Symptoms like dementia and loss of muscle control may not appear for years to decades, depending on the prion disease, but once they do, death quickly follows.

Most of the time, though, the prions seem to show up for no clear reason, called sporadic prion disease.

That said, CJD and all prion diseases remain rare.

Other causes of dementia, such as Alzheimer’s, are expected to rise in incidence in the years to come as well, and may especially impact places like the U.S., where the rate of other chronic conditions for older Americans has also increased over time.