On the solvability of a mathematical model for prion proliferation

We show that a model describing the interaction between normal and infectious prion proteins admits global solutions. More precisely, supposing the involved degradation rates to be bounded, we prove global existence and uniqueness of classical solutions. Based on this existence theory, we provide sufficient conditions for the existence of global weak solutions in the case of unbounded splitting rates. Moreover, we prove global stability of the disease-free steady state. © 2005 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved