Brain’s immune cells play key role in maintaining stability of neuronal networks in Alzheimer's disease

Researchers at Trinity College Dublin have discovered that microglia – the main immune cells of the brain – play a critical role in maintaining the stability of neuronal networks in Alzheimer's disease. Crucially, this suggests treatments that indiscriminately suppress these cells could be counterproductive.

Microglia, by driving brain inflammation, are generally considered to accelerate Alzheimer's disease. But the study, published in leading neurology journal Brain, found that reducing the number and activity of these cells unexpectedly worsened abnormal electrical activity in the brain and increased seizure-like events.

Alzheimer's disease affects more than 55 million people worldwide and is the leading cause of dementia. While memory loss is its best-known symptom, scientists increasingly recognize that the disease also disrupts the brain's electrical activity, affecting how networks of neurons communicate with one another.

In the new study, researchers from Trinity's School of Biochemistry and Immunology, and School of Medicine, examined these changes in a widely used mouse model of Alzheimer's disease.