Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathy (TSE) is a group of progressive and fatal neurodegenerative diseases that affect the brain and nervous system in humans and animals. These diseases are caused by the misfolding of normal cellular proteins called prions, which leads to the formation of abnormal protein aggregates in the brain. This results in the characteristic spongy appearance of the brain tissue under a microscope. TSEs include diseases such as Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) in humans, bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in cows, and scrapie in sheep. These diseases are transmissible between individuals through ingestion of contaminated tissues or other means.
