scrapie

scrapie
/skray"pee, skrap"ee/, n. Vet. Pathol.
an infectious, usually fatal brain disease of sheep, characterized by twitching of the neck and head, grinding of the teeth, and scraping of itching portions of skin against fixed objects with a subsequent loss of wool: caused by an unidentified sticky agent that clings to cell membranes.
[1905-10; SCRAPE + -IE]

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▪ sheep disease
also called  rida, or tremblante du mouton, 

      fatal neurodegenerative disease of sheep and, less often, goats. Scrapie has existed in Europe for more than 200 years and has been endemic in British sheep, particularly the Suffolk breed, since the early 18th century. It is a particular problem in the United Kingdom, Iceland, France, and Germany. It also occurs in the United States, Canada, parts of Asia, and Africa.

      Scrapie usually affects animals between the ages of 2 and 5 years. It has a long incubation time of about 1 to 2 years. The first signs to arise are usually behavioral changes such as general apprehensiveness and nervousness. As the disease progresses the animal loses weight and weakens, develops tremors on the head and neck, loses muscular coordination, and begins to rub or scrape its body against objects, wearing away its fleece or hair (hence the name “scrapie”). The disease inevitably causes death within 1.5 to 6 months. No treatment or palliative measures are known.

      Scrapie is one of a group of diseases classified as spongiform encephalopathies, so named because the resultant deterioration of nerve cells causes a spongelike pattern to develop in the brain tissue. The agent responsible for these diseases is thought to be a prion, a deviant form of a benign protein normally found in the brain. The modified prion protein is thought to be able to convert the normal protein molecule into its own shape, thereby replicating itself within nerve cells, damaging them and causing the characteristic neurodegeneration.

      The scrapie-causing prion can be spread from sheep to sheep. Although the routes of transmission are not entirely clear, there is evidence that the prion persists in pastures in which scrapie-infected sheep have grazed and can infect healthy sheep that feed there. Scrapie also shows a familial tendency, which suggests either an inherited mutation or maternal transmission of the infectious agent. The scrapie prion has been transmitted to other animal species such as mink, but there is no evidence that it has been transmitted to humans.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • Scrapie — is a fatal, degenerative disease that affects the nervous systems of sheep and goats.cite journal author=Detwiler LA title=Scrapie journal=Rev. Off. Int. Epizoot. volume=11 issue=2 pages=491–537 year=1992 pmid=1617202 doi=] It is one of several… …   Wikipedia

  • scrapie — scrapie. Hейрологическое заболевание, известное у домашних овец и коз (у человека аналогичные нарушения отнесены к синдрому Кройцфельдта Якоба); способ воспроизводства возбудителей пока окончательно не выяснен они названы прионами <prions> …   Молекулярная биология и генетика. Толковый словарь.

  • scrapie — [skrā′pē] n. a fatal, degenerative nervous disease of sheep and goats …   English World dictionary

  • Scrapie — Gestörte Körperhaltung (und Gangstörung) bei einem an Scrapie erkrankten Schaf. Scrapie (von engl. scrape „kratzen“, „schaben“) oder Traberkrankheit (Paraplegia enzootica), seltener auch Gnubberkrankheit, Wetzkrankheit oder Rida, ist eine… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Scrapie — Scra|pie 〈[ skrɛıpı] f.; ; unz.〉 der BSE ähnliche, vor allem bei Schafen auftretende Tierseuche, bei der das Zentralnervensystem mit tödlicher Folge erkrankt, Traberkrankheit [engl., vielleicht zu scrappy „kratzen, schaben; sich (gerade noch)… …   Universal-Lexikon

  • Scrapie — Tremblante du mouton La tremblante du mouton, également appelée gratte ou scrapie (mot anglais qui vient du verbe to scrape qui signifie gratter) est une maladie animale à prions, du groupe des encéphalopathies spongieuses transmissibles (ESST),… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Scrapie — Scra|pie [ skreipi:] die; , auch Scra|pie|krank|heit die; <aus gleichbed. engl. scrapie zu to scrape »kratzen, (ab)schaben«> Traberkrankheit (der ↑BSE ähnliche, vor allem bei Schafen auftretende Tierseuche; Tiermed.) …   Das große Fremdwörterbuch

  • scrapie — noun Etymology: 1scrape Date: 1910 a usually fatal spongiform encephalopathy especially of sheep that is caused by a prion and is characterized by twitching, intense itching, excessive thirst, emaciation, weakness, and finally paralysis …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • scrapie — A chronic neurological disease of sheep and goats, similar to other spongiform encephalopathies and much used as a model for studying the diseases. Controversy still surrounds the nature of the transmissible agent slow viruses are proposed by… …   Dictionary of molecular biology

  • scrapie — noun A degenerative prion disease of sheep and goats that attacks the central nervous system …   Wiktionary

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