What Starts Alzheimer's-Like Brain Damage? Scientists Find New Clue
Summary
Scientists found that immune cells called T cells related to brain damage in Alzheimer’s may get activated outside the brain, in lymph nodes. In mice with Alzheimer’s-like brain problems, blocking these immune cells reduced brain damage and helped preserve thinking abilities, even though the protein clumps linked to the disease stayed the same.Key Facts
- Alzheimer’s disease involves abnormal tau protein clumps in the brain called tau tangles.
- T cells, a type of immune cell, build up in the brains of people and mice with Alzheimer’s and cause damage.
- Researchers discovered T cells may be activated by dendritic cells in lymph nodes, not in the brain.
- Removing dendritic cells from lymph nodes in mice lowered T cell numbers in the brain and reduced brain damage.
- Brain tau tangles remained unchanged even when immune activity was blocked.
- Mice with blocked T cell activity kept better cognitive function despite carrying tau tangles.
- Material from damaged brain cells might travel to lymph nodes to trigger immune activation.
- Similar immune activity involving T cells has been observed in human Alzheimer’s disease and related conditions.
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