Eat em and weep:
Warning on Eating Squirrel Brains By Theresa Tamkins
NEW YORK (Reuters) -- People in rural Kentucky should
avoid eating a local delicacy -- squirrel brains.
Health experts suspect the practice may have caused at
least five and possibly as many as 11 cases of the
fatal dementia-inducing disorder Creutzfeldt-Jakob
disease (CJD), the same disorder linked to "mad cow
disease" in the U. K.
The family of all five patients reported that they had
eaten squirrel brains at some point, a food that is
scrambled with eggs or added to a meat and vegetable
stew called "burgoo," according to a letter in The
Lancet.
"It's not that uncommon in certain parts of rural
Kentucky," said Dr. Joseph Berger, professor and
chairman of the neurology department at the University
of Kentucky in Lexington. About 27% of people living
in western Kentucky consume squirrel, according to a
survey of 100 people conducted by Berger and his
colleagues, Drs. Erick and Beverly Weisman. The
patients with the brain disease ranged in age from 56
to 78, and most died within a year of diagnosis.
"There appeared to be, at least by statistical
analysis, an overrepresentation of squirrel-brain
consumption in patients that had CJD," he said.
"However, it may be a statistical fluke." CJD can
occur spontaneously, though the disease is very rare.
Spongiform encephalopathy disorders, which cause
spongy holes to form in the brain, have been found in
mink, mule deer, elk, and other species. It's not
clear how the diseases are spread, but many scientists
believe the infectious agent is a prion (pronounced
pree-on), an abnormal protein thought to change the
shape of normal proteins in the brain. The abnormal
proteins then accumulate and damage nervous tissue --
though the theory is still controversial.
A spongiform encephalopathy of sheep, a disease ground
up and used in cattle feed in the U. K. Consumption of
nervous tissue-contaminated beef is thought to have
caused 20 cases of CJD in humans in England, Scotland
and France, though the link has not been confirmed.
There have been no cases of bovine spongiform
encephalopathy found in the U. S., so it's unlikely
that the Kentucky cases were caused by eating beef.
However, more study -- including analysis of the prion
protein in the five patients and testing of squirrel
brains -- is needed
"It certainly raises some interesting questions and we
do plan to pursue this both in the human population
and we should be harvesting squirrels, or squirrel
brains, from that region of the state to take a look
at them," Berger said.
In the meantime, steering clear of squirrel brain
consumption is not a bad idea, according to the
Kentucky researcher.
"I would not suggest to people that they not eat
squirrel entirely, but I probably would avoid eating
squirrel brain, and I probably would avoid eating the
nervous tissues of any animal," he said. SOURCE: The
Lancet (1997;350:642)
--- Joe Honn <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> I dont care what the species, they all are excellent
> for cooking....fry em up, make sure not to spoil the
> gravy, and watch for the pellets, they'll break your
> teeth.
=====
Indigo Nights
[log in to unmask]
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