"It's not part of getting older. There's a misconception that as you get older you become forgetful and Alzheimer's is just a continuation of aging, but it's not. It's a terrible disease, not a part of aging. It's not something that's inevitable or just happens. It's something we're trying to fight to bring awareness to because with funding and research there can be hope." --Stephanie Vasquez
Alzheimer's disease is a terrible disease that affects not only the people that are burdened with it, but the family members and friends involved. According to the Alzheimer's Association, "More than five million Americans are living with Alzheimer's." Many are struggling with the early stages of Alzheimer's, and many are struggling with the late stages of Alzheimer's; however, one common thing every person, friend, or family member fighting against Alzheimer's Disease is in search of is hope, and hope might have finally arrived.
A study that is being conducted at Yale University may have found the answer for every person in the fight against Alzheimer's: the immune cell. Inflammation, which is caused by immune cells, has previously been thought to be an "enemy" against Alzheimer's Disease. However, according to the Yale University study published in the journal Neuron, "Immune cells in the brain previously blamed for Alzheimer's actually protect against the disease by corralling the damage-causing amyloid plaques." The inflammation caused by such cells may not be the cause of Alzheimer's after all.
The immune cells are called microglia. As previously stated, these cells probably are not the cause for Alzheimer's, nor do they really "gobb up" the plaques, according to Jaime Grutzendler. He claims that instead, the immune cells are more of a protection enclosing plaques -- not allowing them to expand and cause more harm. This protection of immune cells helps the plaques to remain less toxic. Grutzendler even stated, "They're sort of like garbage compactors. They tightly surround the plaques and make them inert and less damaging... by creating a capsule."
Some people have a genetic mutation that keeps the immune cells from surrounding the plaques, "The study found that amyloid plaques were fluffier and spikier, and thus more harmful in the brains of [such] people..." Apparently, these findings from Yale University may help scientists and many others understand why some people develop the memory loss associated with Alzheimer's and others never do.
"It's always been a mystery-- why do people who don't have a lot of plaques get Alzheimer's Disease and others who have a lot of plaques don't?" Grutzendler said. It may be a matter of balance between the immune cells and the plaque, and it might not be. The answer is still unknown; however, Alzheimer's patients are provided with a new hope among research being conducted at Yale University.
