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Missing Link Discovered Between Immune Cells and Alzheimer’s Disease
NEUROSCIENCE NEWSSummary: Researchers at Cornell University have discovered a new pathway that involves immune cells which may contribute to the development of Alzheimer’s disease.
Source: Cornell University
By studying the effects of immune cells that surround blood vessels in the brain, Weill Cornell Medicine researchers have discovered a new pathway involving these cells that may contribute to the cause of Alzheimer’s disease.
Immune cells called perivascular macrophages (green) are observed in close contact with blood vessels in the brain (red). When activated by plaque deposits from the peptide amyloid-beta, a hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease, perivascular macrophages produce damaging free radicals that paralyze blood vessels and deprive the brain of the needed supply of nutrients and oxygen. NeuroscienceNews.com image is credited to the researchers.