Published in 1996, this volume contains chapters by leading researchers in the field of the spongiform encephalopathies, including members of the National CJD Surveillance Unit (Edinburgh, UK), members of the Neuropathogenesis Unit (Edinburgh, UK) and researchers in the United States and Europe. It covers the diagnosis and epidemiology of CJD and BSE, transgenic approaches to the 'species barrier', studies of amyloid formation, and the cell-free conversion of PrPc to PrPSc. There are comprehensive chapters on 'handling the BSE epidemic' and on the special problems of genetic counselling in adult onset disorders.