A mad cow. Sick because of misfolded proteins in its brain.

The Remarkable Phenomena of Mad Cows, Knotted Nerves & Misfolded Proteins

The Classic Case of Misfolded Proteins Did you know that misfolded proteins cause Mad Cow Disease? Strictly speaking, people don’t get Mad Cow Disease. Instead, cows do! Duh! When people eat the meat of infected cows, then they get Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CKD), a kind of dementia. CKD is bad news and kills you quickly. Probably…

A frail old man with Parkinson's disease

The Magic of Levodopa in Parkinson’s Disease

Why do we give levodopa to people with Parkinson’s disease instead of dopamine? After all, loss of dopamine, a major neurotransmitter in the brain, characterizes Parkinson’s disease. Levodopa vs Dopamine Well, the answer is simple, if surprising.  It turn out that dopamine cannot cross the blood brain barrier (BBB).  The BBB is a filter between…