from Hacker News

U.S. Woman Dies from Mad Cow-Like Brain Disease That Lay Dormant for 50 Years

by Vaslo on 5/30/25, 4:08 AM with 41 comments

• by toomuchtodo on 5/30/25, 4:20 AM

  Paper:

  Cadaveric Human Growth Hormone–Associated Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease with Long Latency Period, United States - https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/31/6/24-1519_article | https://doi.org/10.3201/eid3106.241519

• by KingMob on 5/30/25, 5:21 AM

  I remember when Mad Cow hit in the 90s. It seemed like not much happened, but one of the unmentioned little details was that the time frame of the disease matched the lifespan of the animal.

  I realized then that we wouldn't know for decades how many humans caught it.

• by danpalmer on 5/30/25, 6:17 AM

  This is one reason why there are limits around the world on who can donate blood. I received a blood transfusion as a child in the UK in the 90s, and specifically because of it being that country/period, I will never be able to donate blood here in Australia.

• by dwroberts on 5/30/25, 5:12 AM

  > likely contracted through contaminated human growth hormone (HGH) treatments she received as a child, they determined.

  Important context for those unlikely to click through

• by tehlike on 5/30/25, 4:33 AM

  prion diseases is one of the nightmare fuels. Alzheimer is one such disease, with no known cure, and as in this case, can lay dormant for years (thank god, i guess?)

• by topher515 on 5/30/25, 1:36 PM

  I recently read “The Family That Couldn’t Sleep” which is the story of the history and discovery of prion diseases.

  It’s from the mid-00’s so it’s missing the latest research but it’s still an extremely interesting (and terrifying) read.

• by burnt-resistor on 5/30/25, 9:23 AM

  Sporadic (spontaneous) CJD is the most common form. It doesn't require contaminated food or medical products. Proteins can misfold all on their own. The risk is about 2 micromorts / year.

• by JauntTrooper on 5/30/25, 1:11 PM

  That is such a long latency period.

  I wonder if it slowly progresses over time, or if it develops opportunistically once some other bodily system that keeps it in check breaks down with age.

• by gsf_emergency on 5/30/25, 5:50 AM

  For people who prefer vaccines to nightmare fuels, the following might offer some hope:

  (2014)

  https://nyulangone.org/news/first-successful-vaccination-aga...

• by AStonesThrow on 5/30/25, 8:23 AM

  Why mine for Bitcoin, when you can fold some prions at home?

  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Folding@home

• by Tjerkienator on 5/30/25, 6:07 AM

  so everyone with dimentia that dies soon after diagnosis could be victim of mad cow disease?

• by SubiculumCode on 5/30/25, 4:45 AM

  I guess that means it could be made domant again maybe.