(BSE (Bovine spongiform encephalopathy) is also known as mad cow disease.) Disclaimer: The contents of this web site are not intended to be (nor should they be construed as) medical advice. Any questions relating to (or arising from) the information in this web site should be directed to a physician. The editor of this web site does not endorse any animal experimentation referred to in any web site linked from this site.This site is edited by rksjr@cyberspace.org.
Google News Search: "mad cow" (news.google.com) NPR (National Public Radio) Search: "Mad Cow" CBC Search Results: mad cow CNN.COM Search: mad cow BBC News Search: mad cow MSNBC Search: mad cow Fox News Search: mad cow Yahoo News Search Results: mad cow
On Saturday, August 17, 2002 I was listening to On the Media, a radio program broadcast over NPR (National Public Radio). The guest interviewed by Brooke Gladstone was the author/editor Russ Kick discussing Kick's recently published book of which Russ Kick is the editor. [The interview was apparently taped (or initially aired) the day before, on August 16.] One of the chapters in Kick's book is a chapter by Gabe Kirchheimer on mad cow disease (bovine spongiform encephalopathy, BSE), and in discussing this chapter, one thing which Kick said in the interview which caught my attention is the following: The media still isn't talking about the medical studies done by Yale and the University of Pittsburgh which found that an average of like 10 percent of people who die of Alzheimer's actually have died of the human form of mad cow disease; (The aforequoted passage was extracted verbatim from the transcript of the interview.) I performed a Usenet search to find more material by or about Gabe Kirchheimer and found the two sites below in groups.google.com containing Usenet postings which contain article previews of an article by Gabe Kirchheimer on mad cow disease. The two following article previews are similar but not identical: Article preview one: Google Groups Search: kirchheimer "mad cows and englishmen" Article preview two: Google Groups Search: kirchheimer "mad cows and englishmen" Online periodical literature sources of information regarding mad cow disease, CJD, variant CJD (vCJD), new variant CJD (nvCJD), sporadic CJD, scrapie, chronic wasting disease, and kuru: FindArticles.com: article(s) related to: "mad cow disease" FindArticles.com: article(s) related to: CJD (Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease) Note: "variant CJD" is also known as "new variant CJD". FindArticles.com: article(s) related to: VCJD (variant CJD) FindArticles.com: article(s) related to: NVCJD (new variant CJD) FindArticles.com: article(s) related to: "sporadic cjd" FindArticles.com: article(s) related to: scrapie FindArticles.com: article(s) related to: "chronic wasting disease" FindArticles.com: article(s) related to: kuru FindArticles.com The Gerstmann-Straussler-Scheinker Syndrome is also known as Familial CJD. Citations (from the National Library of Medicine online databases) of the two medical studies referred to by Russ Kick in the "On the Media" interview: The first of the two citations: Author(s): Boller F; Lopez OL; Moossy J Title: Diagnosis of dementia: clinicopathologic correlations. Excerpts from the abstract (summary) of the article Source: Neurology (Neurology.) 1989 Jan; 39(1): 76-9 Affiliation: Department of Neurology, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Pittsburgh, PA. National Library of Medicine Gateway Search The second of the two citations: Author(s): Manuelidis EE ; Manuelidis L Title: Suggested links between different types of dementias: Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, Alzheimer disease, and retroviral CNS infections. Excerpt from the abstract (summary) of the article Source: Alzheimer Dis Assoc Disord (Alzheimer disease and associated disorders.) 1989 Spring-Summer; 3(1-2): 100-9 Affiliation: Yale University School of Medicine, Section of Neuropathology, New Haven, CT 06510. National Library of Medicine Gateway Search Regarding CJD and antioxidants: The following is an excerpt from an abstract of a medical research article (Arlt et al. 2002): ... These results support the hypothesis that oxidative mechanisms are involved in the pathogenesis of CJD and provide a rationale for the use of antioxidants in the therapy of this disease. Editor's note: The antioxidants referred to in the above abstract excerpt are ascorbate (vitamin C) and alpha-tocopherol (vitamin E). Further information regarding the (above) article (Arlt et al. 2002) Recent News Google News Search: "mad cow" (news.google.com) NPR (National Public Radio) Search: "Mad Cow" "[T]wo hundred cases or so last year" [of BSE in 2005 in Great Britain]: Hear Nigel Gibbons (head of the BSE division for the British Government's Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) interviewed on CBC's AS_IT_HAPPENS by interviewer Evan Solomon for the March 8, 2006 broadcast. (The 8 minute and 11 second Gibbons interview begins after approximately 9 minutes and 50 seconds of preceding news items in the "Part 1" segment link.): Source: Canadian Broadcasting Company's _AS_IT_HAPPENS March 8, 2006 URL: http://www.cbc.ca/insite/AS_IT_HAPPENS_TORONTO/2006/3/8.html [The following is an older (2003) news item; some might say it's no longer relevant; some might disagree. (I've been unable to locate corresponding downer testing statistics for 2003, 2004, or 2005. - RKSJR)]: Regarding the testing of American cattle for B.S.E.: The United States had approximately 200,000 downer cattle last year [in 2002] but tested only 20,000 or 10 percent. ... ... Some European countries tested hundreds of thousands of cattle before they detected the disease in their herds. Source: United Press International: USDA urged to employ mad cow rapid test (7/10/2003) Dozens of leads in Alabama mad cow case yield no results (March 25, 2006) Dozens of leads in Alabama mad cow case yield no results Regarding the recently reported mad cow in the state of Washington, U.S.A.: "MSNBC - Mad cow's 'downer' status disputed" Source: MSNBC (msnbc.msn.com) Feb. 04, 2004 URL: http://msnbc.msn.com/id/4163834/ Source of mad cow may never be known. Source: (edmonton.cbc.ca) Sep 25 2003 URL: http://edmonton.cbc.ca/regional/servlet/View?filename=ed_madcow20030525 "BSE cases still crop up in Europe, although the practice of using cattle feed derived from cattle remains has been banned for years." (quotation from article titled: "Scientist: More isolated BSE outbreaks possible") Source: CNEWS Canada - Scientist: More isolated BSE outbreaks possible Wednesday, September 24, 2003 URL: http://www.canoe.com/CNEWS/Canada/2003/09/24/201608-cp.html Scientists have developed a way to reduce the risk of contracting CJD from surgical instruments. Source: BBC NEWS - Tuesday, 16 September, 2003 URL: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/3112604.stm Chronic wasting disease spreads easily [in populations of deer and elk]. Source: The Salt Lake Tribune (sltrib.com) Sep/09042003 Chronic wasting disease spreads easily among deer. Source: CBC News (cbc.ca) 2003/09/03 Alberta to improve lab testing for mad cow. Source: CTV.ca (Canadian Television), circa August 25, 2003 Regarding the concerns of Dr. Brian Evans of The Canadian Food Inspection Agency: The Canadian Food Inspection Agency's Dr. Brian Evans fears farmers -- discouraged by the fallout of a single case of BSE -- might not report potential cases on their farms. Evans also worries other countries might take a similar approach by not aggressively testing for, and reporting, diseases in their livestock. Source: CTV.ca (Canadian Television): Vanclief set to lobby Japan to lift mad cow ban (2003/07/12) Backgrounder (usda.gov) ("Updated July 10, 2003") US FDA takes a closer look at mad cow feed ban Regarding a possible destination of rendered material from "Cow Zero": Canadian Food Inspection Agency officials say their ongoing investigation has indicated that meat and bone meal potentially containing material from the lone BSE-infected cow may have been used in dog food. Source: Western Producer - BSE investigators look at dog food - May 28, 2003 edition Regarding Alberta Canada's "Cow Zero" of May 2003: The inspector, who condemned the carcass, sent her head for testing and put her remains in the rendering tank to be taken to grind up to make a protein supplement that experts believe is safe to feed to feed non-ruminants, mainly chicken and pigs. Source: an article by Jill Mahoney and Mark Hume in The Toronto Globe and Mail, May 24, 2003 From the Plain Dealer 14 day archive at cleveland.com: Apr. 11, 2003; Article by Randolph E. Schmid; Associated Press: Regarding possible "[g]ene mutations that protect some people from certain brain-destroying diseases" [including CJD and kuru] The following link contains a discussion similar to that found in the above link: http://www.nature.com/nsu/030407/030407-13.html Harvard Study Shows Very Low Risk of BSE in the United States. Source: (usda.gov/news/releases) Nov. 30, 2001 Google News Search: "mad cow" (news.google.com) NPR (National Public Radio) Search: "Mad Cow" Yahoo! News Full Coverage - Health - Mad Cow Disease (news.yahoo.com) Google News Search: "variant cjd" (news.google.com) Google News Search: "sporadic cjd" (news.google.com) Yahoo! News Search - sporadic CJD (news.yahoo.com) Google News (news.google.com) Yahoo! News - Front Page (news.yahoo.com) Government Agencies Backgrounder (usda.gov) ("Updated July 10, 2003") CDC Media Relations (cdc.gov): Facts About Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease The following link accesses an article authored by Brown P, Will RG, Bradley R, Asher DM, and Detwiler L; published in the journal: Emerging Infectious Diseases (a CDC publication); Jan-Feb 2001, Vol. 7, No. 1, pages 6-16: CDC (cdc.gov) - Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy and Variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease: Background, Evolution, and Current Concerns CDC (cdc.gov) - Afterthoughts about Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy and Variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease CDC Search Results (cdc.gov): cjd and alzheimer Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) (fda.gov) BSE Home Page - Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (aphis.usda.gov) BSE Surveillance - Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (aphis.usda.gov) Canadian Food Inspection Agency - BSE DISEASE INVESTIGATION IN WESTERN CANADA - Main Page Canadian Food Inspection Agency - Questions and Answers - Investigation into A Case of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) in Alberta The following five links access web sites of the OIE (a remnant agency of the League of Nations) as referred to in the above linked sites of the USDA and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency:
Google News Search: the oie (news.google.com)
Related web sites regarding mad cow disease and/or CJD
Alzheimer's and CJD
The Public Health Implications of Mad Cow Disease
CNN.com - Judge dismisses beef lawsuit against Oprah - September 18, 2002
Texas Cattle Ranchers vs. Oprah Winfrey
OPRAH WINFREY: MAD COW DISEASE
European Vegetarian Union News - Howard Lyman wins case against Cattlemen
Alzheimer's and CJD
Diagnosis of dementia: Clinicopathologic correlations
Creutzfeld-Jakob Disease (CJD) Epidemic in the United States
CJD Insight
CJD (BIOSI: Neuroscience and Medicine)
BBC NEWS | In Depth | BSE and CJD
BBC NEWS | World | Europe | France lifts British beef ban
BSE and CJD: Chronology of a crisis (news.bbc.co.uk)
Comments To The FSIS/APHIS Meeting On The Harvard BSE Risk Analysis Project
Official Mad Cow Disease Home Page
Mad Cow Disease What the Government Isn't Telling You! 3/14/01
Mad Cowboy Book Review
US Cows: Sacred or Mad?
Mad Animal Update
Maddeer.org - World Archives
VegSource: vegetarian & vegan recipes & resource -- US Cows: Sacred or Mad?
The Human BSE Foundation
Alternative diets, cuisines, et cetera
Amazon.com: buying info: Eat Right, Live Longer by Neal Barnard, M.D.
Amazon.com: buying info: Diet for a Small Planet by Frances Moore Lappe
Amazon.com: buying info: Recipes for a Small Planet by Ellen Buchman Ewald
Miscellaneous
The following web site lists the chapter headings of Russ Kick's
aforementioned book: E.Y.K.I.W. > Table of Contents
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