For decades, there has been no answer to the question of why
the altered prion protein is poisonous to brain cells. Neuropathologists from
the University of Zurich and University Hospital Zurich have now shown that it
is the flexible tail of the prion protein that triggers cell death. These
findings have far-reaching consequences: only those antibodies that target the
tail of the prion protein are suitable as potential drugs for combating prion
diseases.