What are the signs and symptoms of the Mad Cow Disease?

Answer 1

First thing it does when it infects you is that it has a long incubation period that lasts for a few years before it shows any symptoms at all. Then when the incubation period is over it starts eating the brain causing ataxia early in the illness, dementia, and late in the illness is myoclonus; all the symptoms rapidly deteriorate the person that is infected.

Answer 2

Mad Cow DiseaseBovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE, the scientific name for mad cow disease in animals) or variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD, the scientific name for mad cow disease in humans) is caused by a misfolded infectious protein called a prion. When this prion encounters the normal protein in the brain of an animal or human, it causes the normal protein to refold in the wrong configuration. As these proteins misfold, they are unable to be digested by the cellular enzymes so they collect within the cell until they cause the neuron to die. As the neurons die, clinical signs of neurologic problems develop. This disease has an incredibly long incubation period and may not show visible symptoms until between two and eight years after it was initially contracted. SymptomsIn both cattle and humans, Mad Cow Disease affects the brain and nervous system. Symptoms for humans and animals are listed below.

• In animals:
  • Degredation of spinal tissues leaves an animal very aggressive, very nervous, and unsteady on its feet or uncoordinated.
• In humans:
  • Mad cow disease symptoms are behavioral changes, gradual loss of coordination and locomotive function, and, in advanced stage, weight loss, inability to control fine and gross muscle actions (such as writing a letter or speaking) and abnormal gait.

Diagnosis and PrognosisBecause vCJD causes similar symptoms to CJD, which, in turn, causes similar symptoms to those found in dementia patients, it can be hard to diagnose. Generally though, the symptoms associated with any form of dementia progress much more slowly than those associated with vCJD or CJD. Since the disease is caused by an infectious protein and not a pathogen of any kind, there is no cure or treatment and the disease progresses until the infected person or animal dies.