The accumulation of conformationally altered cellular proteinsis a common feature underlying the pathogenesis of neurodegenerativeconditions such as Alzheimer's disease and the prion diseases.However, the proteins that cause prion diseases are uniquelyinfectious. The neuropathological profiles of Alzheimer's diseaseand certain prion diseases such as variant Creutzfeldt–Jakobdisease (the human manifestation of bovine spongiform encephalopathy)involve the aggregation of the etiologic protein into amyloidplaques, but the relationship between plaque formation and diseasehas been the focus of debate. A recent study by Chesebro andcolleagues1 weighs in on one side.
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