High levels of manganese in the environment, not infected beef, could be respsonsible for the human version of mad cow disease (vCJD), a Cambridge researcher suggests this week,Nicholas Regush from ABC News reports. David Brown at Cambridge University believes that in fact the heavy metal manganese may play an important role in a complex process that eventually destroys the brain, both in cows and humans. Following laboratory research Brown claims that that he can change the prion, the key protein agent in the disease, from its normal to abnormal state by manipulating the only two metals that bind to it, copper and manganese, without the need for any infectious material. Brown maintains that current theories surrounding mad cow disease and vCJD are incomplete. Although cautious about his challenge to conventional thinking on mad cow disease and vCJD, Brown said that "science should be open to these possibilities, particularly since there is still a lot of mystery surrounding these outbreaks." He believes that to ignore the possibility that environmental factors trigger both animal and human diseases could prevent action from being taken to clean up toxic effects that may be at the root of the problem. "We obviously need much broader research in this entire area," he told ABC News. Brown is to speak next week at a scientific conference in Quebec City, Canada.Source: ABCNews
