What kind of diseases do prions typically cause?

Prions are misfolded proteins that can induce abnormal folding of normal cellular proteins, primarily in the brain, leading to the disruption of normal cellular functions. As a result, prions are most notably associated with neurodegenerative diseases, where the accumulation of these misfolded proteins results in progressive degeneration of neuronal tissue.

Prion diseases, such as Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease and bovine spongiform encephalopathy (mad cow disease), specifically target the nervous system, causing cognitive decline, memory loss, motor dysfunction, and ultimately leading to death. The neurodegenerative effects are due to the formation of amyloid plaques and spongiform changes in the brain, which are characteristic of these disorders. Thus, the classification of diseases caused by prions as neurodegenerative is accurate and well-supported by scientific literature.

In contrast, the other categories of diseases do not align with the mechanism of how prions cause damage. Inflammatory diseases involve immune responses, metabolic diseases relate to issues with biochemical processes in the body, and while prions can be transmitted between individuals, the diseases they cause are not classified as traditional infectious diseases, as they do not contain nucleic acids like bacteria or viruses.