Researchers at Trinity College Dublin have discovered that microglia – the main immune cells of the brain – play a critical role in maintaining the stability of neuronal networks in Alzheimer’s disease. Crucially, this suggests treatments that indiscriminately suppress these cells could be counterproductive.

Microglia, by driving brain inflammation, are generally considered to accelerate Alzheimer’s disease. But the study, published in leading neurology journal Brain, found that reducing the number and activity of these cells unexpectedly worsened abnormal electrical activity in the brain and increased seizure-like events.