(Aug. 7) The first test in the world to diagnose the Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease has an Italian signature. Neurological researchers from the Institute “Carlo Besta” in Milan, in collaboration with the University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston (UTHSC), have succeeded in developing a method to detect in a urine sample the presence of prions, the altered proteins that cause the disease. “It is an important step forward – a statement said – because until now the disease could be diagnosed with certainty only after the patient’s death, as it was necessary to analyze a sample of his brain tissue during autopsy . On the contrary, the new test is an instrument of simple administration and is non-invasive”. The study is published today by “The New England Journal of Medicine”, one of the most important international scientific journals.
