LOS ANGELES: Dementia and other neurodegenerative diseases may be symptoms of inflammation caused by an out-of-control immune system, according to researchers at the University of Adelaide in Australia.
Previously, most dementia and Alzheimer’s research has focused on the role of protein deposits called amyloid plaques that lodge in the brains of patients with Alzheimer’s. But it is becoming increasingly clear that this is an inadequate explanation for the disease.
The investigators have gathered very strong evidence showing that the neurological decline found in dementia-related diseases is triggered by “auto-inflammation,” a phenomenon in which the body’s own immune system develops a persistent inflammatory response leading to brain cell death…..