Microglia News and Research

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T Cells Infiltrate Brain and Worsen Alzheimer's Pathology, Study Finds

Cognitive decline associated with Alzheimer's disease (AD) develops when neurons begin to die, which can be caused by inappropriate immune responses and excessive inflammation in the brain triggered by amyloid beta deposits and tau tangles, two hallmarks of the disease.

28 Aug 2023

Potential Strategies for Slowing Cognitive Deterioration in Age-Associated Neurodegenerative Conditions

As we age, our bodies undergo various changes that can impact our overall health and make us more susceptible to diseases.

3 Aug 2023

Lipe Gene Plays Pivotal Role in Retinal Health, Study Finds

UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers have identified a gene called Lipe that appears to be pivotal to retinal health, with mutations spurring immune activation and retinal degeneration.

12 Jul 2023

Microglial Cells Serve as a Stable Viral Reservoir for Latent HIV

Human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV) introduces a copy of its DNA into human immune cells as part of its life cycle. Some of these newly infected immune cells can subsequently enter an inactive, latent state for an extended length of time, which is known as HIV latency.

19 Jun 2023

Manipulating Brain Cells via Light Irradiation

An international research team, comprising scientists from DZNE, University Hospital Bonn, the Netherlands, and the US has been awarded a US$ 1.3 million grant by the "Human Frontier Science Program" to investigate brain immune cells and manipulate them via light irradiation.

8 May 2023

Study Provides Increased Understanding of How Tick-Borne Encephalitis Virus Behaves in the Brain

The dreaded tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) virus infects different types of brain cells in different parts of the brain, depending on whether the affected person's immune system is activated or not.

18 Apr 2023

Cellular Recycling Function in the Brain Slows Dramatically After Traumatic Brain Injury

Each year about 1.5 million people in the U.S. survive a traumatic brain injury due to a fall, car accident, or a sports injury, which can cause immediate and long-term disability.

5 Apr 2023

SARS-CoV-2 Spike Protein Induces Memory Loss After COVID-19

Patients diagnosed with post-COVID-19 syndrome often experience cognitive and memory impairments.

4 Apr 2023

Novel platform identifies genes that control biologic processes

Inflammatory neurological diseases, such as multiple sclerosis (MS), can arise when cell-to-cell communication between cells in the central nervous system (CNS) goes awry. But exactly how this cellular crosstalk leads to the molecular changes that drive disease remain unknown.

13 Mar 2023

Scientists shed new light on aging processes in the brain

Scientists from the Trinity Biomedical Sciences Institute (TBSI) have shed new light on aging processes in the brain.

9 Mar 2023

Study findings reveal drug development possibilities for brain diseases

Nearly two dozen experimental therapies targeting the immune system are in clinical trials for Alzheimer's disease, a reflection of the growing recognition that immune processes play a key role in driving the brain damage that leads to confusion, memory loss and other debilitating symptoms.

9 Mar 2023

Scientists discover two ways to preserve diseased upper motor neurons in ALS

Northwestern Medicine scientists have discovered two ways to preserve diseased upper motor neurons that would normally be destroyed in ALS, based on a study in mice. Upper motor neurons initiate movement, and they degenerate in ALS.

24 Feb 2023

Study: Platelets likely to perform a protective function in AD

A new research paper was published on the cover of Aging entitled, "Immune-mediated platelet depletion augments Alzheimer's disease neuropathological hallmarks in APP-PS1 mice."

16 Feb 2023

UNC research describes another layer to the challenge of HIV latency

When people living with HIV take antiviral therapy (ART), their viral loads are driven so low that a standard blood test cannot detect the virus.

1 Feb 2023

New technologies reveal cross-cutting breakdowns in Alzheimer’s disease

A figure from the paper depicts pathways perturbed in Alzheimer's disease. Below examples are listed for each pathway by major brain cell type. Image Credit: The Picower Institute.

4 Jan 2023

Microglial cells trigger inflammatory protective mechanisms in the immune system

Microglia, the brain’s own immune cells, are present in the central nervous system.

1 Dec 2022

Tackling epilepsy with a potential new drug

One of the epilepsy types that are most prevalent worldwide is temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE). Although there are symptomatic medications available, one-third of TLE patients are still not responding to the current course of treatment, necessitating the urgent need for new drug targets.

25 Nov 2022

UO research in zebrafish shows a gut-brain link that influences social behavior

To learn to socialize, zebrafish need to trust their gut. Gut microbes encourage specialized cells to prune back extra connections in brain circuits that control social behavior, new UO research in zebrafish shows.

10 Nov 2022

Characterizing the transcription profile of microglia in a mouse model

Researchers from Tohoku University have now shown that the consolidation and extinction of contextual fear conditioning alter the microglial genes connected to the synapse—structures that permit neurons to communicate with one another.

13 Sep 2022

Researchers analyze functional microglia to empower retinal organ

Professor Zi-Bing Jin is in charge of this research (Beijing Institute of Ophthalmology, Beijing Tongren Eye Center, Beijing Tongren Hospital, and Capital Medical University). He has spent the last decade working on retinal organoids, which can accurately mimic retinal development.

3 Jun 2022