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Kuru is an incurable degenerative neurological disorder endemic to tribal regions of Papua New Guinea. It is a type of transmissible spongiform encephalopathy, caused by a prion found in humans. The term "kuru" derives from the Fore word "kuria/guria" ("to shake"), a reference to the body tremors that are a classic symptom of the disease; it is also known among the Fore as the "laughing sickness" due to the pathologic bursts of laughter people would display when afflicted with the disease. It is now widely accepted that kuru was transmitted among members of the Fore tribe of Papua New Guinea via funerary cannibalism. == Signs and symptoms == Kuru causes physiological, as well as neurological effects that ultimately lead to death. It was endemic among the Fore tribe of Papua New Guinea and was confined to the Fore population and those nearby populations with whom they intermarried. It is characterized by truncal ataxia, preceded by headaches, joint pains, and shaking of the limbs. Trembling is present in almost all patients with this transmissible spongiform encephalopathy; kuru is also known as "shiver".〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Kuru: The Dynamics of a Prion Disease )〕 The preclinical or asymptomatic phase, also called the incubation period, lasts between possibly 5 to 20 years following initial exposure. The clinical stage lasts an average of 12 months. The symptoms of kuru are divided into three specific stages. The first, ambulant stage, exhibits unsteady stance and gait, decreased muscle control, tremors, deterioration of speech, and dysarthria (slurred speech). In the second, sedentary stage, the patient is incapable of walking without support and suffers ataxia (loss of muscle coordination) and severe tremors. Furthermore, the victim is emotionally unstable and depressed, yet has uncontrolled sporadic laughter. Interestingly, the tendon reflexes are still normal at this point.〔 In the final, terminal stage, the patient is incapable of sitting without support, suffers severe ataxia (no muscle coordination), is unable to speak, is incontinent (unable to restrain natural discharges/evacuations of urine or faeces), has dysphagia (difficulty swallowing), is unresponsive to his or her surroundings, and acquires ulcerations (sores with pus and necrosis). An infected person usually dies within three months to two years after the first symptoms, often because of pneumonia or pressure sore infection.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Kuru (disease)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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