A simple kinetic model to describe the progression of prion disease

Abstract

A simple mathematical model based on bistationary autocatalytic kinetics is proposed to describe a possible progression of prion disease. The model accounts for both the sporadic and the infectious manifestation of the disease. Peculiarly, it shows how the disease grows if the concentration of the infectious agent (the prion PrPSc) is added to the metabolic system over a threshold concentration, while for a lower concentration the disease cannot grow.