The PURPOSE of this website is to present information on the transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSE) in a clear manner and to provide easy access to peer-reviewed publications for those interested in pursuing the topic in a more detailed manner. This site emphasizes the work of Dr. Frank Bastian (Neuropathologist and Professor of Animal Science, Louisiana State University Agricultural Center) with regard to the role of spiroplasma, a wall-less bacterium in the pathogenesis of TSEs. The PROBLEM with most Government and University informational websites is that no attempt is made to critique the research reports, making it impossible for others to understand the significance of these data. There is much controversy regarding the causality of TSEs. Our research shows that prion amyloid (the TSE research focus for the past 30 years) is the result of a bacterial infection. This controversy directly reflects on Louis Pasteur's efforts to prove that replicating crystals are not
Lines of evidence supporting the role of an extreme thermo-acidophilic bacterium (spiroplasma sp.) in the pathogenesis of chronic wasting disease and the other transmissible spongiform encephalopathies. MORPHOLOGICAL SPIROPLASMA IDENTIFIED BY TEM IN CJD BRAIN TISSUES SPIROPLASMA IN AQUEOUS FLUID OF SHEEP WITH TERMINAL SCRAPIE EXPERIMENTALLY SPIROPLASMA-INFECTED ANIMAL MODEL RAT MODEL SPIROPLASMA INDUCES SPONGIFORM ENCEPHALOPATHY DEER MODEL CLINICAL EVIDENCE OF BRAIN STEM LESIONS MORPHOLOGICAL EVIDENCE OF BRAIN STEM LESION RUMINANT MODEL- SHEEP AND GOATS MORPHOLOGICAL EVIDENCE OF BRAIN STEM LESION LOCALIZATION TO EYES- RETINOPATHY MOLECULAR DETECTION OF ORGANISM IN TSE-AFFECTED TISSUES (PCR) CULTURE OF SPIROPLASMA FROM CWD & OTHER TSE-AFFECTED TISSUES PASSAGE IN EMBRYONATED EGGS GROWTH IN CELL-FREE BRUCELLA SPECIAL MEDIA GROWTH ON AGAR WITH FORMATION OF SUBSURFACE PLAQUES IDENTICAL BIOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF TRANSMISSIBLE TSE AGENT AS SHOWN BY ENUMERATION OF SUBSURFACE PLACUES O