Question

The agents which are known to cause CJD are
(a) Protein particles
(b) A class of bacteria
(c) A class of viruses
(d) Fungi

Answer 1

Hint: A serious mental disorder that is caused by the prions and it may be passed by the parents from one generation to another. The causative agents are infectious and made up of amino acids that later develop abnormality.

Complete answer:
CJD is the Creutzfeldt- Jakob disorder which is a fatal mental degenerative disorder that is caused by the prions. Prions are the misfolded protein particles that are infectious and may cause severe problems including memory loss, impairment in sensory receptors, etc.
- Prions are the proteins that are misfolded that can change the shape of the normal proteins.
- They may cause a severe neurodegenerative disorder that can be transmitted from one generation to another in humans or in animals both.
- The change of shape of the protein is unknown but it is observed that the three- dimensional structure of the proteins is abnormal which leads to the abnormality in the proteins that are present in its vicinity.
- The prions have the ability to change its conformation of the structure and then transmit to other proteins and can also propagate by themselves.
- The Creutzfeldt- Jakob disorder (CJD) is a neurocognitive disorder that causes degeneration of the brain.
- The symptoms of CJD may also include blindness, coma, weakness, dementia, etc.
- It has been observed that around one million people are affected by this disorder every year.
- The treatment of this disorder is still unknown but the use of opioids may help with the pain for some time.
So, the correct answer is ‘Protein particles’.

Note: In 1920 the German neurologist Hans Gerard Creutzfeldt was the first to describe the Creutzfeldt-Jakob disorder (CJD) . Later the name Creutzfeldt-Jakob was given by Alfons Maria Jakob. The word prion was coined by Stanley B. Prusiner. The term was derived from the two words protein + infection, meaning ‘proteinaceous infectious particle’.