Madness seen in a cow's eyes

Sunday, June 7, 2015

A researcher in Iowa is looking into cow's eyes as a way to detect disease earlier, Phys.org reports.
Research from Iowa State University (ISU) shows that retinal scans can identify bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) – more commonly known as "mad cow disease" – in animals up to 11 months before they show other symptoms. According to Phys.org, BSE is an untreatable neurodegenerative disorder caused by misfolded brain proteins known as prions.

Heather Greenlee, an associate professor of biomedical sciences at ISU's College of Veterinary Medicine, has been researching the connection between prion diseases and the retina. In an ISU interview, Greenlee described the retina as "the part of the brain closest to the outside world, and we know the retina is changed in animals that have prion diseases."

BSE-positive cattle in the food system since 2003 have cost the Canadian beef industry billions of dollars in lost trade. BF