ABSTRACT
Recently, the problem of neurodegenerative diseases in the medical community has become increasingly relevant. This is due to many factors: from insufficiently studied mechanisms of development of some nosological units to low awareness of medical workers. Among neurodegenerative diseases in humans, prions constitute a very specific group, which are infectious protein particles with a unique morphological structure and capable of causing a number of incurable diseases. Despite years of research, no optimal remedy has yet been found to treat them. This review examines the already studied aspects of prion diseases as a class, including small historical background, features of ethiology, pathogenesis, course and outcome of the most common of them, as well as existing research on experimental methods of diagnostics, treatment and prevention of prion infections.