Understanding the role of microglia is helping scientists work toward improved treatments for neurodegenerative diseases.

New research shows that microglia, which usually clear debris, cause harmful inflammation in the presence of APOE4 protein.

By transplanting human neurons into the mouse brain and eliminating the mouse microglia, scientists at the Gladstone Institutes in San Francisco observed that amyloid and tau deposition was reduced.

The brain, traditionally considered an immune-privileged organ due to the blood-brain barrier (BBB), has its own sophisticated immune defense system.

In neurodegenerative diseases, microglia can help or harm the brain. In the October 3 Journal of Clinical Investigation, scientists led by Ilia Baskakov at the University of Maryland School of ...

The microglia, in turn, seem to benefit, revving up metabolism and phagocytosis. The liver protein ApoA-I was particularly good at bolstering the latter. Overall, the findings suggest that the brain’s ...

POLK expression in neurons and report an important observation that POLK exhibits an age-dependent change in subcellular localization, from the nucleus in young tissue to the cytoplasm in old tissue.

Research has shown that HSV-1, the virus responsible for cold sores, can spread into specific areas of the brain and may ...

The study by Power and colleagues is important as elucidating the dynamic immune responses to photoreceptor damage in vivo potentiates future work in the field to better understand the disease process ...

Researchers find that a gene linked to Alzheimer's triggers inflammation in healthy brain immune cells, offering new insights ...