Molecular diagnostics of transmissible spongiform encephalopathies.

Clinical criteria for the diagnosis of sporadic, iatrogenic and variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob diseases are now available and show an excellent sensitivity and specificity ( approximately 98%). Post-mortem diagnosis, based upon the identification in the brain of the pathological conformer of the prion protein (PrP(Sc)), is also very accurate, and several diagnostic kits are now available that facilitate the immunochemical measurement of PrP(Sc). Several new molecular diagnostic techniques aimed at increasing the sensitivity and specificity of PrP(Sc) detection, and at identifying markers of disease that are other than PrP(Sc), are the subject of ongoing studies. The aim of these studies is to develop preclinical screening tests for the identification of infected, but still healthy, individuals. These tests are also badly needed to check the safety of blood or blood-derived products, and to ensure meat safety in European countries.