Depression is often seen as a silent partner in the worsening of Alzheimer's disease. It's like a hidden force that makes things worse, but how it does this has been a bit of a mystery. Scientists have known that tiny brain helpers called microglia play a big role in both depression and dementia. But the exact way they team up to make Alzheimer's worse has been uncle...
Brain organoids are tiny, simplified versions of a human brain grown in a lab. They are made from cells taken from people with a specific disease. These organoids help scientists understand how the disease affects the brain. One such disease is hereditary diffuse leukoencephalopathy with axonal spheroids (HDLS). It is a rare and fatal brain disease that usually start...
Microglia are the brain's first responders to sudden injuries. They are a type of immune cell that lives in the central nervous system. When something goes wrong, like a bad fall or a stroke, microglia spring into action. They change their behavior and release tiny packages called extracellular vesicles. These vesicles can either help or harm the brain, depending on ...
Glioblastoma, a nasty type of brain tumor, has a sneaky way of communicating with its surroundings. It sends out tiny bubbles, called exosomes, that can change how immune cells, called microglia, behave. These exosomes are like secret messengers, carrying instructions that can turn microglia into helpers for the tumor instead of fighters against it. But how do these...
Sepsis is a serious condition that can mess with your brain. It can cause a bunch of problems, like delirium, coma, and even long-term memory issues. Doctors call this sepsis-associated encephalopathy, or SAE. It's a big deal because it affects a lot of people and can be really hard to deal with. SAE is all about the brain's immune cells, called microglia, g...
Brain inflammation, a significant factor in neurodegenerative diseases, is managed by tiny immune cells called microglia. These cells can be pro-inflammatory (M1) or anti-inflammatory (M2). We know that human stem cells from umbilical cords (hUCMSCs) can release substances that reduce inflammation. Another interesting method is photobiomodulation (PBM), which uses li...
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a complex disease where remyelination—the body's attempt to repair damaged nerve fibers—varies greatly among individuals and even within the same person. Scientists in the Netherlands decided to use this natural diversity to find out what makes some people better at remyelinating than others. They collected brain tissue from people with MS,...
Ever wondered if tiny cells in your eye can bounce back after a sudden inflammation? Scientists used a special strain of mice to find out. They gave these mice a single dose of a harmless bacteria substance into their eyes and watched what happened in the microglia, tiny immune cells in the retina. They collected these cells at different times after the inflammation ...
Imagine tiny soldiers inside your eyes, known as microglia. These warriors guard your eyes against infections. Scientists wanted to know if microglia could bounce back after an illness. They studied special mice with marked microglia and watched an infection called endotoxin-induced uveitis (EIU) unfold. They checked in on the microglia at various times: 4 hours afte...