Blocking Receptors in Microglia Restores Memory Functions in Mice with Alzheimer's

            Having had a great-grandmother who suffered from Alzheimer’s disease, I’ve always had a strong interest in how the disease works. and what can be done to prevent it. This semester, Robert Morrison spoke to our class about Alzheimer’s and explained some current research having to do with the disease. He explained that a positive diagnosis of Alzheimer’s shows neuritic plaques and neurofibrillary tangles in the brain cause by A-beta plaques. He also explained that the best way to detect Alzheimer’s early on is by keeping an eye on the A-beta concentrations in the brain. Remembering this, I found it very exciting to see that researchers at Stanford released a study last year talking about their newest Alzheimer’s findings, having to do with the brain’s clean up of these A-beta plaques. They found that the reason why nerve cells in the brains of people with Alzheimer’s die off is due to the decreased function of microglia in the brain. Microglia are cells that deal with protecting the brain against bacteria and viruses, calming down inflammation in the brain, and cleaning up debris, such as A-beta plaques. The researchers at Stanford found that “blocking the action of a single molecule on the surface of microglia restored the cells’ ability to get the job done – and reversed memory loss and myriad other Alzheimer’s-like features” in mice. From this data, they believe that this receptor protein, EP2, in microglia, is what causes the cell to lose its ability to clean up the brain, and this in part plays a role in causing Alzheimer’s disease. When they blocked EP2 in mouse brains, they saw an increase in performance on standard memory tests in mice that had the mouse equivalent of Alzheimer’s. Considering that I have had a family member with the disease, and as Robert Morrison stated, there are 5.3 million people with Alzheimer’s in the United States, I believe this evidence is extremely important. There have been many questions surrounding the topic of neurodegenerative diseases, and knowing that we are progressing toward solving some of these important questions is remarkable.  Discovering that blocking EP2 allows microglia to do its job again, we are closer to a treatment or cure for Alzheimer’s. Not only would this improve the lives of people suffering from the disease, it would improve the lives of their caregivers and family members that have to live through the struggle of caring for someone with Alzheimer’s.

Goldman, Bruce. "Blocking Receptor in Brain's Immune Cells Counters Alzheimer's in Mice, Study Finds." Stanford Medicine. N.p., 8 Dec. 2014. Web. 08 Dec. 2015. <http://med.stanford.edu/news/all-news/2014/12/blocking-receptor-in-brains-immune-cells-counters-alzheimers.html>.