Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE, or “mad cow disease”) is a fatal disease in cattle that causes portions of the brain to turn sponge-like. This transmissible disease is caused by the propagation of a misfolded form of protein known as a prion, rather than by a bacterium or virus. The average time from infection to signs of illness is about 60 months. Little is known about the pathogenesis of BSE in the early incubation period. Previous research has reported that the autonomic nervous system (ANS) becomes affected by the disease only after the central nervous system (CNS) has been infected.
