Kuru Differential Diagnoses

1. Collinge J. Prion diseases of humans and animals: their causes and molecular basis. Annu Rev Neurosci. 2001. 24:519-50. [QxMD MEDLINE Link].

2. Wadsworth JD, Collinge J. Update on human prion disease. Biochim Biophys Acta. 2007 Jun. 1772(6):598-609. [QxMD MEDLINE Link].

3. Almond JW. Bovine spongiform encephalopathy and new variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. Br Med Bull. 1998. 54(3):749-59. [QxMD MEDLINE Link].

4. Belay ED, Schonberger LB. The public health impact of prion diseases. Annu Rev Public Health. 2005. 26:191-212. [QxMD MEDLINE Link].

5. Orrú CD, Yuan J, Appleby BS, Li B, Li Y, Winner D, et al. Prion seeding activity and infectivity in skin samples from patients with sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. Sci Transl Med. 2017 Nov 22. 9 (417):[QxMD MEDLINE Link]. [Full Text].

6. Haïk S, Brandel JP. Infectious prion diseases in humans: Cannibalism, iatrogenicity and zoonoses. Infect Genet Evol. 2014 Aug. 26C:303-312. [QxMD MEDLINE Link].

7. Takada LT, Geschwind MD. Prion diseases. Semin Neurol. 2013 Sep. 33(4):348-56. [QxMD MEDLINE Link].

8. Araújo AQ. Prionic diseases. Arq Neuropsiquiatr. 2013 Sep. 71(9B):731-7. [QxMD MEDLINE Link].

9. Gajdusek DC. Unconventional viruses and the origin and disappearance of kuru. Science. 1977 Sep 2. 197(4307):943-60. [QxMD MEDLINE Link].

10. Liberski PP, Brown P. Kuru: a half-opened window onto the landscape of neurodegenerative diseases. Folia Neuropathol. 2004. 42 Suppl A:3-14. [QxMD MEDLINE Link].

11. Grabow JD, Campbell RJ, Okazaki H, et al. A transmissible subacute spongiform encephalopathy in a visitor to the eastern highlands of New Guinea. Brain. 1976 Dec. 99(4):637-58. [QxMD MEDLINE Link].

12. Gajdusek DC, Zigas V, Baker J. Studies on kuru. III. Patterns of kuru incidence: demographic and geographic epidemiological analysis. Am J Trop Med Hyg. 1961 Jul. 10:599-627. [QxMD MEDLINE Link].

13. Hornabrook RW. Kuru. Contemp Neurol Ser. 1975. 12:71-90;294. [QxMD MEDLINE Link].

14. Collinge J, Whitfield J, McKintosh E, Beck J, Mead S, Thomas DJ, et al. Kuru in the 21st century--an acquired human prion disease with very long incubation periods. Lancet. 2006 Jun 24. 367(9528):2068-74. [QxMD MEDLINE Link].

15. Whitfield JT, Pako WH, Collinge J, Alpers MP. Mortuary rites of the South Fore and kuru. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 2008 Nov 27. 363(1510):3721-4. [QxMD MEDLINE Link].

16. Alpers MP. Review. The epidemiology of kuru: monitoring the epidemic from its peak to its end. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 2008 Nov 27. 363(1510):3707-13. [QxMD MEDLINE Link].

17. Prusiner SB. Novel proteinaceous infectious particles cause scrapie. Science. 1982 Apr 9. 216(4542):136-44. [QxMD MEDLINE Link].

18. Mead S, Whitfield J, Poulter M, Shah P, Uphill J, Campbell T, et al. A novel protective prion protein variant that colocalizes with kuru exposure. N Engl J Med. 2009 Nov 19. 361(21):2056-65. [QxMD MEDLINE Link].

19. Lee HS, Brown P, Cervenakova L, et al. Increased susceptibility to Kuru of carriers of the PRNP 129 methionine/methionine genotype. J Infect Dis. 2001 Jan 15. 183(2):192-196. [QxMD MEDLINE Link].

20. Collinge J. Molecular neurology of prion disease. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry. 2005 Jul. 76(7):906-19. [QxMD MEDLINE Link].

21. Brandner S, Whitfield J, Boone K, Puwa A, O'Malley C, Linehan JM, et al. Central and peripheral pathology of kuru: pathological analysis of a recent case and comparison with other forms of human prion disease. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 2008 Nov 27. 363(1510):3755-63. [QxMD MEDLINE Link].

22. Chakraborty C, Nandi S, Jana S. Prion disease: a deadly disease for protein misfolding. Curr Pharm Biotechnol. 2005 Apr. 6(2):167-77. [QxMD MEDLINE Link].

23. Collinge J. Variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. Lancet. 1999 Jul 24. 354(9175):317-23. [QxMD MEDLINE Link].

24. Collinge J. Human prion diseases and bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE). Hum Mol Genet. 1997. 6(10):1699-705. [QxMD MEDLINE Link].

25. Klug GM, Lewis V, Collins SJ. Molecular Subtyping of PrP^res in Human Sporadic CJD Brain Tissue. Methods Mol Biol. 2017. 1658:347-354. [QxMD MEDLINE Link].

26. Statement by USDA Chief Veterinary Officer John Clifford Regarding a Detection of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) in the United States. United States Department of Agriculture. Available at http://usda.gov/wps/portal/usda/usdahome?contentid=2012/04/0132.xml. Accessed: April 29, 2012.

27. vCJD (Variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease) Date: August 23, 2010. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Available at http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvrd/vcjd/factsheet_nvcjd.htm. Accessed: April 29, 2012.

28. BSE (Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy, or Mad Cow Disease). Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Available at http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvrd/bse/. Accessed: April 29, 2012.

29. Hornabrook RW. Kuru--a subacute cerebellar degeneration. The natural history and clinical features. Brain. 1968 Mar. 91(1):53-74. [QxMD MEDLINE Link].

30. Whitfield JT, Pako WH, Collinge J, Alpers MP. Cultural factors that affected the spatial and temporal epidemiology of kuru. R Soc Open Sci. 2017 Jan. 4 (1):160789. [QxMD MEDLINE Link]. [Full Text].

31. Mandell G, Bennett J, Dolin R. Prions and prion diseases of the central nervous system. Principles and Practice of Infectious Diseases. 6th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2005. Vol 2: 2221.

32. Fiorino AS. Sleep, genes and death: fatal familial insomnia. Brain Res Brain Res Rev. 1996 Oct. 22(3):258-64. [QxMD MEDLINE Link].

33. Ridley RM, Baker HF. The myth of maternal transmission of spongiform encephalopathy. BMJ. 1995 Oct 21. 311(7012):1071-5; discussion 1075-6. [QxMD MEDLINE Link].

34. Collinge J. New diagnostic tests for prion diseases. N Engl J Med. 1996 Sep 26. 335(13):963-5. [QxMD MEDLINE Link].

35. Kobayashi A, Parchi P, Yamada M, Mohri S, Kitamoto T. Neuropathological and biochemical criteria to identify acquired Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease among presumed sporadic cases. Neuropathology. 2015 Dec 15. [QxMD MEDLINE Link].

36. Lampert PW, Gajdusek DC, Gibbs CJ. Subacute spongiform virus encephalopathies. Scrapie, Kuru and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease: a review. Am J Pathol. 1972 Sep. 68(3):626-52. [QxMD MEDLINE Link].

37. Fichet G, Comoy E, Duval C, Antloga K, Dehen C, Charbonnier A, et al. Novel methods for disinfection of prion-contaminated medical devices. Lancet. 2004 Aug 7-13. 364(9433):521-6. [QxMD MEDLINE Link].

38. Rogez-Kreuz C, Yousfi R, Soufflet C, Quadrio I, Yan ZX, Huyot V, et al. Inactivation of animal and human prions by hydrogen peroxide gas plasma sterilization. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol. 2009 Aug. 30(8):769-77. [QxMD MEDLINE Link].

39. Greenlee JJ, Nicholson EM, Hamir AN, Noyes GP, Holtzapple MT, Kehrli ME Jr. Ablation of prion protein immunoreactivity by heating in saturated calcium hydroxide. BMC Res Notes. 2008 Oct 28. 1:99. [QxMD MEDLINE Link]. [Full Text].

40. Gajdusek DC, Gibbs CJ Jr, Alpers M. Transmission and passage of experimental "kuru" to chimpanzees. Science. 1967 Jan 13. 155(759):212-4. [QxMD MEDLINE Link].

41. Brown P, Will RG, Bradley R, et al. Bovine spongiform encephalopathy and variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease: background, evolution, and current concerns. Emerg Infect Dis. 2001 Jan-Feb. 7(1):6-16. [QxMD MEDLINE Link].

42. Brown P, Bradley R. 1755 and all that: a historical primer of transmissible spongiform encephalopathy. BMJ. 1998 Dec 19-26. 317(7174):1688-92. [QxMD MEDLINE Link].

43. Carp RI, Kascsak RJ, Wisniewski HM, et al. The nature of the unconventional slow infection agents remains a puzzle. Alzheimer Dis Assoc Disord. 1989 Spring-Summer. 3(1-2):79-99. [QxMD MEDLINE Link].

44. Collinge J, Whitfield J, McKintosh E, Frosh A, Mead S, Hill AF, et al. A clinical study of kuru patients with long incubation periods at the end of the epidemic in Papua New Guinea. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 2008 Nov 27. 363(1510):3725-39. [QxMD MEDLINE Link].

45. Gajdusek DC. Kuru: an appraisal of five years of investigation. Eugen Q. 1962 Mar. 9:69-74. [QxMD MEDLINE Link].

46. Gajdusek DC, Zigas V. Degenerative disease of the central nervous system in New Guinea; the endemic occurrence of kuru in the native population. N Engl J Med. 1957 Nov 14. 257(20):974-8. [QxMD MEDLINE Link].

47. Gardash'ian AM. [Kuru]. Zh Nevropatol Psikhiatr Im S S Korsakova. 1969. 69(5):767-72. [QxMD MEDLINE Link].

48. Hadlow WJ. Scrapie and Kuru. Lancet. 1959. 2:289-290.

49. Keohane C. The human prion diseases. A review with special emphasis on new variant CJD and comments on surveillance. Clin Exp Pathol. 1999. 47(3-4):125-32. [QxMD MEDLINE Link].

50. Lessons from kuru. Lancet. 2006 Jun 24. 367(9528):2034. [QxMD MEDLINE Link].

51. Liberski PP, Brown P. Kuru: its ramifications after fifty years. Exp Gerontol. 2009 Jan-Feb. 44(1-2):63-9. [QxMD MEDLINE Link].

52. Lindenbaum S. Review. Understanding kuru: the contribution of anthropology and medicine. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 2008 Nov 27. 363(1510):3715-20. [QxMD MEDLINE Link].

53. Mead S, Whitfield J, Poulter M, Shah P, Uphill J, Beck J, et al. Genetic susceptibility, evolution and the kuru epidemic. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 2008 Nov 27. 363(1510):3741-6. [QxMD MEDLINE Link].

54. Miller MW, Williams ES. Chronic wasting disease of cervids. Curr Top Microbiol Immunol. 2004. 284:193-214. [QxMD MEDLINE Link].

55. Mocsny N. The spongiform encephalopathies: prion diseases. J Neurosci Nurs. 1998 Oct. 30(5):302-6. [QxMD MEDLINE Link].

56. Nutr Rev. Nutrition and infection: cannibalism. Nutr Rev. 1971 Oct. 29(10):226-7. [QxMD MEDLINE Link].

57. Polo JM. [The history and classification of human prion diseases]. Rev Neurol. 2000 Jul 16-31. 31(2):137-41. [QxMD MEDLINE Link].

58. Serpell LC, Sunde M, Blake CC. The molecular basis of amyloidosis. Cell Mol Life Sci. 1997 Dec. 53(11-12):871-87. [QxMD MEDLINE Link].

59. Simpson NE. The map of chromosome 20. J Med Genet. 1988 Dec. 25(12):794-804. [QxMD MEDLINE Link].

60. Sy MS, Gambetti P, Wong BS. Human prion diseases. Med Clin North Am. 2002 May. 86(3):551-71, vi-vii. [QxMD MEDLINE Link].

61. Toledano-Gasca A. Hypotheses concerning the aetiology of Alzheimer's disease. Pharmacopsychiatry. 1988 Aug. 21 Suppl 1:17-25. [QxMD MEDLINE Link].

62. Tyler KL. Prions and prion diseases of the central nervous system. Curr Clin Top Infect Dis. 1999. 19:226-51. [QxMD MEDLINE Link].

63. Verdrager J. Kuru and "new variant" CJD. Southeast Asian J Trop Med Public Health. 1997 Sep. 28(3):535-40. [QxMD MEDLINE Link].

64. Wadsworth JD, Joiner S, Linehan JM, Asante EA, Brandner S, Collinge J. Review. The origin of the prion agent of kuru: molecular and biological strain typing. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 2008 Nov 27. 363(1510):3747-53. [QxMD MEDLINE Link].

65. Will RG, Ironside JW, Zeidler M, et al. A new variant of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in the UK. Lancet. 1996 Apr 6. 347(9006):921-5. [QxMD MEDLINE Link].

66. Wojtowicz S. Multiple sclerosis and prions. Med Hypotheses. 1993 Jan. 40(1):48-54. [QxMD MEDLINE Link].

67. Zigas V, Gajdusek DC. Kuru: clinical study of a new syndrome resembling paralysis agitans in natives of the Eastern Highlands of Australian New Guinea. Med J Aust. 1957 Nov 23. 44(21):745-54. [QxMD MEDLINE Link].

Zartash Zafar Khan, MD, FACP Infectious Disease Consultant

Zartash Zafar Khan, MD, FACP is a member of the following medical societies: American College of Physicians, Infectious Diseases Society of America, International Society for Infectious Diseases

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Mark Martin Huycke, MD Professor of Medicine, Infectious Diseases Section, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center; Chief, Medical Service, Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Oklahoma City

Mark Martin Huycke, MD is a member of the following medical societies: American Association for the Advancement of Science, American Association for Cancer Research, American College of Physicians, American Federation for Medical Research, American Society for Microbiology, Infectious Diseases Society of America

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Paul A Janson, MD Instructor, Tufts University School of Medicine; Consulting Staff, Department of Emergency Medicine, Lawrence General Hospital

Paul A Janson, MD is a member of the following medical societies: American Academy of Emergency Medicine, American College of Emergency Physicians

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Mary Buechler, MD Staff Physician, Emergency Center, Lawrence General Hospital

Mary Buechler, MD is a member of the following medical societies: American Academy of Emergency Medicine, American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, American College of Emergency Physicians

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Francisco Talavera, PharmD, PhD Adjunct Assistant Professor, University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Pharmacy; Editor-in-Chief, Medscape Drug Reference

Disclosure: Received salary from Medscape for employment. for: Medscape.

Thomas M Kerkering, MD, FACP, FIDSA Professor of Medicine with Tenure, Division of Infectious Diseases, Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine; Adjunct Professor, Department of Population Studies, Masters of Public Health Program, Virginia Tech University, School of Veterinary Medicine

Thomas M Kerkering, MD, FACP, FIDSA is a member of the following medical societies: Alpha Omega Alpha, American College of Physicians, American Public Health Association, American Society for Microbiology, American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, Infectious Diseases Society of America, International Society for Human and Animal Mycology, Medical Society of Virginia, Roanoke Academy of Medicine, Virginia Infectious Diseases Society, Wilderness Medical Society

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Pranatharthi Haran Chandrasekar, MBBS, MD Professor, Chief of Infectious Disease, Department of Internal Medicine, Wayne State University School of Medicine

Pranatharthi Haran Chandrasekar, MBBS, MD is a member of the following medical societies: American College of Physicians, American Society for Microbiology, International Immunocompromised Host Society, Infectious Diseases Society of America

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Rachel H Chung, MD Consulting Staff, Department of Family Practice, North Clinic, North Memorial Hospital

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

• Print this section
• Print the entire contents of
• Print the entire contents of article