Structured Summary
Abstract
A prion disease found exclusively among the Fore linguistic group natives of the highlands of NEW GUINEA. The illness is primarily restricted to adult females and children of both sexes. It is marked by the subacute onset of tremor and ataxia followed by motor weakness and incontinence. Death occurs within 3-6 months of disease onset. The condition is associated with ritual cannibalism, and has become rare since this practice has been discontinued. Pathologic features include a noninflammatory loss of neurons that is most prominent in the cerebellum, glial proliferation, and amyloid plaques. (From Adams et al., Principles of Neurology, 6th ed, p773)
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Synonyms
2 entry terms
- Encephalopathy, Kuru
- Kuru Encephalopathy
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Aspects Covered
36 allowable subheadings
Indexed with the subheadings blood, cerebrospinal fluid, chemically induced, classification, complications, congenital, diagnosis, diagnostic imaging, diet therapy, drug therapy, economics, embryology, enzymology, epidemiology, ethnology, etiology, genetics, history, immunology, metabolism, microbiology, mortality, nursing, parasitology, pathology, physiopathology, prevention & control, psychology, radiotherapy, rehabilitation, surgery, therapy, transmission, urine, veterinary, virology.
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Indexing Annotation
do not confuse with KORO, a depersonalization disord
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NLM Classification
WL 301
AMA Style
References
- National Library of Medicine. Kuru. Medical Subject Headings (MeSH). 2026. Unique ID D007729. http://id.nlm.nih.gov/mesh/2026/D007729
- Kuru. In: Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kuru_(disease)
- Kuru. In: Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q274615