Prevention of Harmful Astrocyte Activation as a Therapy for Parkinson ' s Disease

Researchers have recently investigated means to interfere in on a one of the later consequences in neurodegenerative conditions, in which the supporting astrocyte cells in the brain become actively harmful to the neurons that they normally aid and protect. Astrocytes are triggered into this state at least in part by the inflammatory dysregulation of microglia, a class of innate immune cells of the central nervous system. Aging brings rising levels of chronic inflammation throughout the body, a consequence of processes such as the accumulation of senescent cells and malfunctioning of the immune system. The evidence clearly shows that this inflammation contributes to the progression of all of the common age-related conditions, and neurodegenerative diseases are no exception. The focus in the research materials noted here is on Parkinson's disease, but the mechanism is more broadly applicable. All older individuals suffer to some degree from inflammation of the central nervous system, and the more of it there is, the worse off they are. Sabotaging one of the numerous consequences of this inflammatory state is better than nothing, but it isn't as good as finding ways to address the roots of the issue. In this case, that would be the causes of what has come to be known as inflammaging, the decline of the immune system into simultaneous incompetence and excess activity. There are a number of strategies that could be pursued effectively today, even given the present po...
Source: Fight Aging! - Category: Research Authors: Tags: Medicine, Biotech, Research Source Type: blogs