The Laugh Of Death

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Time Codes

0:00-Intro 

0:26-Kuru disease discovered by Dr. Carleton Gadjusek in 1957

0:39-Transmissible Spongiform Encelopathies(TSE's) 

0:46-Kuru disease was first discovered in The Fore tribe of Papua New Guinea 

0:55-The Fore tribe ate dead family members in special ritual(endocannibalism) 

1:08-Kuru definition in Papua New Guinean 

1:16-Symptoms of Kuru 

1:27-Known as "The Laughing Death" 

1:42-Scientists followed data about past bloodlines from the different tribes in Papua New Guinea 

1:52-The scientists had found their  breakthrough 

2:01-Kuru was a springboard for research on other neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's, Dementia, and GSS 

2:16-Dr. Carleton Gadjusek wins 1976 Nobel Peace Prize for his research on Kuru disease 

2:24-There is no cure besides not practicing cannibalism or eating human brains 

2:31-The incubation period for Kuru can last over 30 years 

2:41-Outro 

Cannibalism has been practiced for hundreds of thousands of years in human history. As crazy as that sounds it is still a very commonplace practice for certain cultures today but what led to the discovery of Kuru disease and how dpoes this discovery relate to both Mad Cow Disease and Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease? 

Let's go Above The Brain and analyze the origins of Kuru. 

Kuru disease was discovered by Dr. Carleton Gadjusek in 1957. 

Kuru disease is known as the first human prion disease transmitted to humans and it is a part of a class of infectious diseases known as Transmissible Spongiform Encelopathies or TSE's/prion diseases. It's inception began with the epidemic of The Fore tribe of Northern Papua New Guinea in the 1950's and 1960's. It was a common practice for The Fore people to eat the dead tissues of dead family members including the brain which basically means that they practiced endocannibalism as opposed to exocannibalism which is the cannibalization of enemies. This is also a huge part of why Kuru had spread so rampantly and was so infectious. The significance of hindering their traditions was very difficult to overcome but the scientists notice it disportionately affected woman and children. In which they later found the connection  to the women who prepared all of the human flesh for the ritual as they would eat different parts in between their preparation of the meat. 

It just so happens that the brain tissues of people with Kuru are very infectious and that the prion proteins they ate from dead family members inevitably caused their death as it would spread to other tribes and affect other people. The fore believed the deaths are attributed to sorcery and witchcraft but after studying them extensively it became apparent that there was a scientific reason as to why they were dying. 

Kuru in Papua New Guinean means "to shiver or tremble with fear" and that is origin of the diseases name. With those experiencing symptoms likely to lose their  coordination entirely and have a difficulty walking, tremors, behavioral and mood changes, dementia and difficulty swallowing or processing food. It is also known for those experiencing symptoms to laugh manically before they die and that is why it is also known as "The Laughing Death". People who develop Kuru can often live for another year but at the cost of severe deficits and limitations. 

With there being no cures for any TSE's to date. Other examples of TSE's include Creutzfeld-Jakob Disease which is inherited and also affects the prion proteins in the brain. Kuru is also a similar equivalent to Mad Cow Disease as that is another TSE found in mammals. 

To try and prove that Kuru was not inherited scientists spent a lot of their time gathering data about past bloodlines of the different tribes in Papua New Guinea. That combined with their research related to chimpanzees and Kuru they had finally come to the conclusion that this was a transmissible disease as opposed to Creutzfeld-Jakob Disease which is inherited.

 The movement behind the transmission of  neurodegenerative disease like Kuru also opened the door for research on other neurodegenerative diseases like Dementia and Alzheimers and GSS(which was also transmissible even though it was inherited genetically). 

 Dr. Carleton Gadjusek actually won The Nobel Peace Prize in 1976 for is findings regarding Kuru and there is still no cure besides not practicing endocannibalism or eating human brains.

 Though there are very little cases today it was discovered that the incubation period for Kuru is can last for over thirty years. So for all we know Kuru is still alive looking for its next host

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Author

Calya

Como educador, estou profundamente engajado no desenvolvimento dos estudantes em ambiente escolar, adotando métodos pedagógicos que valorizam conexões genuínas e são movidos por inovação e fervor. É minha vocação guiar os alunos na jornada de se tornarem uma geração notável, empregando estratégias de ensino amplamente aclamadas por prestigiadas instituições acadêmicas ao redor do globo - perfume.rukahair.com