Uploaded October 2019 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Messy tangles of a protein called tau can be found in the brains of people with Alzheimer’s disease and some other neurodegenerative diseases. In Alzheimer’s, the tangles coalesce just before tissue damage becomes visible in brain scans and people start to become forgetful and confused. A study from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis has found that brain immune cells called microglia – which are activated as tau tangles accumulate – form the crucial link between protein clumping and brain damage. The research shows that eliminating such cells sharply reduces tau-linked brain damage in the mice – and suggests that suppressing such cells might prevent or delay the onset of dementia in people. To read the news release: https://medicine.wustl.edu/news/targeting-immune-cells-may-be-potential-therapy-for-alzheimers/
Video by Mark Hallett/Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis
Messy tangles of a protein called tau can be found in the brains of people with Alzheimer’s disease and some other neurodegenerative diseases. In Alzheimer’s, the tangles coalesce just before tissue damage becomes visible in brain scans and people start to become forgetful and confused. A study from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis has found that brain immune cells called microglia – which are activated as tau tangles accumulate – form the crucial link between protein clumping and brain damage. The research shows that eliminating such cells sharply reduces tau-linked brain damage in the mice – and suggests that suppressing such cells might prevent or delay the onset of dementia in people. To read the news release: https://medicine.wustl.edu/news/targeting-immune-cells-may-be-potential-therapy-for-alzheimers/
Video by Mark Hallett/Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis
