By Laurel Lyle | Project Leader
Some individuals seem to be resilient to AD. Although these individuals develop the classic hallmarks of the disease—bundles of amyloid plaque and neurofibrillary tau tangles—they do not develop dementia symptoms in their lifetime.
Studies suggest that resilience to the pathology may be associated with reduced levels of neuroinflammation, thought to be universal in symptomatic AD. Instead of promoting neuroinflammation, the essential immune cells in the brain— microglia and astrocytes—remain in their housekeeping state and do not become disease-associated despite a significant burden of amyloid plaques and tau tangles. Therefore, identifying predictive markers of resilience and understanding the underlying mechanisms involved may be key to therapeutically mimicking the brain’s natural protection against amyloid beta and tau, and developing novel therapies for AD that preserve cognition.
Teresa Gomez-Isla, Massachusetts General Hospital
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