Doctor Juergen A. Richt a distinguished Regents sir of diagnostic medicine and Pathobiology at the Kansas state university college of veterinary medicine has a bound that mad cow disease can also be caused by genetic mutations. Meaning that some cows have the gene to develop the mad cow disease.

Richts team has found new evidence to suggest that mad cow disease is not only food or born but is also rarely caused by a cows own genetics. Mad cow is caused by a genetic mutation within a gene called , Prion protein gene. Prion proteins are those expressed a abundantly in the brain and immune cells of the mammals.

This research follows a ten year old cow from Alabama with an a typical form of bovine spongiform encephalopathy. It was found that this cow had the same type of Prion protein gene mutation that is found in people who develop the genetic form of Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease.

In humans , mad cow disease is Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease. It sometimes develops sporadically from genetic mutations in peoples genes and also is food born meaning when people eat the food products that are contaminated with the mad cow disease.

These findings by the team at the Kansas state university college of veterinary medicine indicate that cows are like humans in that some cases of mad cow disease is genetic while others are food born.

Richt stated that , ‘Our findings that there is a genetic component to BSE are significant because they tell you we can have this disease everywhere in the world , even in so-called BSE-free countries… It's a slow process for infectious Prion proteins to develop…That's why the disease takes a long time -- as long as several years -- to show up… Genetic BSE we can combat…We have submitted a patent for a test system that can assess all bulls and cows before they're bred to see whether they have this mutation.

Mad cow disease caused by genetics is extremely rare. A recent epidemiological study estimated that the mutation affects less than one in 2000 cattle.

Source: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080912075208.htm