The article, published in the biomedical journal Science Translational Medicine, reflects that the researchers demonstrated that activation of microglia with an antibody reduces amyloid plaques in the brain and mitigates behavioral abnormalities in mice with an Alzheimer’s-like disease.

Microglia, microglial or Hortega cells are neuroglial cells of the nervous tissue with phagocytic and supportive capacity, which form the immune system of the central nervous system and constitute 10 percent of brain cells.

The authors recall that microglia surround plaques to create a barrier that controls the spread of harmful proteins.

This approach could have implications beyond such a condition, as toxic clumps of brain proteins are characteristic of many neurodegenerative diseases, such as Parkinson’s, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and Huntington’s disease. Specialists are exploring other possible immunotherapies to rid the brain of junk proteins that are believed to advance other health ailments.

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