Transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSE) or prion diseases are a group of fatal neurodegenerative diseases that affects humans and animals. The characteristic feature of prion diseases is conversion of normal cellular prion (PrPc) to the abnormal pathogenic scrapie isoform (PrPsc) through a still undefined mechanism, which eventually results in the extracellular accumulation of PrPsc aggregates. Studies were shown that cellular prion protein is present in cancer cell lines and may protect cells from pro-apoptotic agent or sensitizes cells to apoptotic stimulus. Therefore, the main...

Snakebite is on the World Health Organization official list of Neglected Tropical Diseases. Moreover, most published data of snake bites in Malaysia were confined to the northern states of West Malaysia. The aim of the study is to obtain and analyze the demographic and clinical profiles of snakebite patients attending Emergency Department, Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia, Kelantan. Kelantan is located at northeast of Peninsular of Malaysia. This is a 5-year retrospective study (Jan 2006 to Dec 2010). We reviewed 260 snakebite cases. Data on snakebites by time periods, demographic and...