[Spongiform encephalopathies].

Mad cow crisis (Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy) had many consequences on the regulatory framework in several fields. It is now obvious that the agent of bovine spongiform encephalopathy is transmissible to man, provoking a new condition which differs from the sporadic from of Creutzfedt-Jakob Disease (CJD) called variant or new variant (vCJD). This paper tries to review the most important new findings in the scientific field of spongiform encephalopathies.