Alzheimer’s disease starts with a sticky protein called amyloid beta that builds up into plaques in the brain, setting off a chain of events that results in brain atrophy and cognitive decline. The new generation of Alzheimer’s drugs — the first proven to change the course of the disease — work by tagging amyloid for clearance by the brain’s immune cells.
Now, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have found a different and promising way to remove the noxious plaques: by directly mobilizing immune cells to consume them.