Scientists at the University of Virginia School of Medicine have made a groundbreaking discovery revealing that targeting immune cells called microglia could enhance blood flow to the brain, paving the way for new treatments for Alzheimer’s and other neurodegenerative diseases.
A team of researchers at the University of Virginia School of Medicine has discovered a promising new strategy to battle Alzheimer’s disease by boosting blood flow to the brain.
This breakthrough, published in the journal Nature Communications, offers hope for combating not just Alzheimer’s but potentially other neurodegenerative conditions as well.
Immune Cells and Brain Health
Led by Ukpong B. Eyo, from UVA’s Department of Neuroscience, the study focuses on the essential role that immune cells called microglia play in regulating the brain’s capillaries.
These tiny blood vessels are crucial for supplying the brain with the nutrients and oxygen it needs to function optimally.
“For some time now, microglia have been suggested to play important roles in regulating vessel function. With this study, we have provided the most definitive evidence that they do regulate blood flow to the brain, specified the location of this function to the brain’s small vessels or capillaries and identified an enzyme that they use to do this,” Eyo said in a news release. “Although microglia are dysfunctional in neurodegenerative diseases, our work now raises the possibility of improving blood flow deficits by targeting microglia.”
The Brain’s Energy Demands
Despite making up only 2% of our body weight, the brain consumes about 20% of the body’s total energy.
This high demand is met through an extensive network of 400 miles of blood vessels, branching into capillaries. Proper functioning of these vessels is critical for brain health.
The research team, including first author William A. Mills III, a UVA researcher, aimed to pinpoint which specific cells ensure the optimal function of these capillaries.
They found that microglia ensure proper capillary “tone,” which is essential for effective blood delivery to the brain. When microglia were eliminated, capillaries narrowed and blood flow decreased, but restoring the microglia reversed these effects.
“The microglial enzyme identified in this study has been targeted heretofore in patients with Alzheimer’s disease, albeit with mixed results. Our study suggests that these therapeutics would have maximal benefit if prescribed according to the therapeutic window of microglia in Alzheimer’s — a focus in our ongoing research,” Mills added.
Future Research and Potential Treatments
The researchers acknowledge that more work is required to fully understand the cellular communication that maintains capillary function.
However, they are hopeful that this new insight into microglial roles could lead to effective therapies not only for Alzheimer’s but also for other conditions like vascular dementia and some types of Parkinson’s disease.
“Now that we have identified a novel role for microglia in blood vessel structure and function as well as a specific enzyme involved, we are poised to examine how this enzyme and microglial functions change, and to subsequently develop therapies to reduce these changes during neurodegenerative diseases broadly and in Alzheimer’s disease especially,” added Eyo.