Britons fear new 'mad cow' variant

LONDON, Jan. 3 (UPI) -- A woman who died of "mad cow" disease in England had a genotype different than the particular genetic profile of those normally susceptible to the disease.

The 39-year-old woman died of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease and her genetic profile varied from the genetic profile of previous patients susceptible to the ailment, The Times of London reported Thursday.

Most examiners said they suspect the woman developed a variant of the disease not caused by eating infected beef. If it's found to be a mutation associated with bovine spongiform encephalopathy, it may indicate a second susceptible human genotype.

The malfunction of proteins in the central nervous system in Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease sufferers occurs in the 40 percent of the human population that has two copies of the amino acid methionine in the proteins.

The discovery of the disease in different genotypes suggests it is affecting different genetic groups but may be masked due to longer incubation times.

The genetic profile of the woman is published in the journal Archives of Neurology, but one scientist says, "the final conclusion remains open."