NPR's Joe Neel reports that scientists have developed the first simple test for mad cow disease and its human equivalent, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. Until now, the only way to diagnose these incurable diseases was to look at a sample of brain tissue, something doctors are reluctant to do before a patient dies. The new test uses spinal fluid and will likely prevent the needless slaughter of animals that have symptoms of the disease but are actually healthy. The test will also permit doctors to distinguish between mind-robbing symptoms of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease and a more common syndrome, Alzheimer's disease.
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