New Strategy Devised for Clearing #Alzheimer’s-Associated Amyloid Plaques

Scientists from the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), Munich and the Ludwig Maximilians University (LMU), Munich say they have discovered a strategy to help the brain remove amyloid plaques, which is a characteristic feature of Alzheimer’s disease. More precisely, they uncovered a factor that can activate microglial cells to engulf newly forming clumps in the brain. Microglia are the scavenger cells of the brain’s immune system that function in keeping the brain free of any damaging material. The study (“Young Microglia Restore Amyloid Plaque Clearance of Aged Microglia”) is published in The EMBO Journal.