Alzheimer’s disease is the most common type of dementia. It involves parts of the brain that control thought, memory, and language.
Multiple sclerosis is an autoimmune disease that affects the brain and spinal cord (central nervous system). In many cases, MS can cause permanent disability and even death.
In a study from the University of Virginia, scientists have discovered a molecule in the brain responsible for orchestrating the immune system’s responses to Alzheimer’s disease and multiple sclerosis (MS).
This may allow doctors to supercharge the body’s ability to fight those and other devastating neurological diseases.
The molecule the researchers identified, called a kinase, is crucial to both removing plaque buildup associated with Alzheimer’s and preventing the debris buildup that causes MS.
It does this, the researchers showed, by directing the activity of brain cleaners called microglia.
These immune cells were once largely ignored by scientists but have, in recent years, proved vital players in brain health.
The new findings could one day let doctors augment the activity of microglia to treat or protect patients from Alzheimer’s, MS and other neurodegenerative diseases.
In the study, the researchers found that a lack of the molecule they identified, spleen tyrosine kinase, triggered plaque buildup in the brain and caused the mice to suffer memory loss—like the symptoms seen in humans with Alzheimer’s.
Further, they were able to reduce the plaque buildup by activating this molecule and microglia in the brain, suggesting a potential treatment approach for human patients, though that would require significantly more research and testing.
The team says the work has described a critical element of microglial function during Alzheimer’s disease and MS.
Understanding the underlying biology of these cells during neurodegeneration may allow scientists and doctors to develop increasingly informed and effective treatments.
A lack of the molecule in a mouse model of MS, meanwhile, led to the buildup of damaged myelin, a protective coating on nerve cells.
When myelin is damaged, the cells cannot transmit messages properly, causing MS symptoms such as mobility problems and muscle spasms.
The team says that boosting SYK activity in microglia can decrease the amount of myelin debris in MS lesions, and developing new drugs to target SYK could stop the progression of MS and help to reverse the damage.
If you care about Alzheimer’s, please read studies about antioxidants that could help reduce the risk of dementia, and 5 steps to protect against Alzheimer’s and Dementia.
For more information about brain health, please see recent studies that herb rosemary could help fight COVID-19 and Alzheimer’s disease, and results showing this stuff in mouth may help prevent Alzheimer’s.
The study was conducted by John Lukens et al and published in Cell.
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