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The immune system is involved in the development of Alzheimer's disease
Last reviewed: 02.07.2025
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For several decades, scientists from all over the world have been trying unsuccessfully to find a way to combat Alzheimer's disease, which is characterized by gradual memory loss, decreased thinking, understanding, speech, etc. This disease is more commonly known as "senile dementia."
Recently, experts have increasingly reported that the human immune system is involved in the development of the disease, although scientists find it difficult to answer the principle by which this is caused.
A new study conducted by researchers at Duke University, a private research university in North Carolina, found that early in the neurodegenerative disorder, immune cells that protect the brain begin to destroy arginine, an amino acid that the brain uses to function properly. The group of scientists published their findings in a neuroscience journal.
To better understand the changes that occur in immunity as the disease progresses, the scientists used laboratory rodents that had a human-like immune system and were in the early stages of Alzheimer's disease.
As a result, the specialists found that it is possible to reverse the process by which immune cells absorb the amino acid needed by the brain. To do this, the scientists used a small molecule. During an experiment on rodents, the specialists were able to stop the development of plaques in the brain and memory loss.
According to the American experts, the discovery they made not only determines the possible cause of the development of neurodegenerative disease, but will help in the creation of new effective means of treating the disease.
The head of the scientific project, Professor Carol Coulton, explained that if the amino acid arginine is a provoking factor in the development of neurodegenerative disorders, then, in all likelihood, blocking this amino acid could help stop the progression of the disease.
Among all forms of acquired dementia, Alzheimer's disease is considered the most common disorder. This disease affects the area of the brain that is responsible for thinking and memory. The first signs of the disease are mild memory loss, over time, a person cannot maintain communication, does not react to external irritants.
Statistics show that in 2013, Alzheimer's disease affected more than five million people in the United States alone.
It is worth noting that for their experiments, the specialists used special rodents that were modified in such a way that their immune system became similar to the human one. The rodents also had all the symptoms of the early development of the disease - loss of neurons, behavioral changes, plaques in the brain.
The experts also noted that in the early stages of the disease, immune cells begin to change; in addition, high expression of genes related to the suppression of the immune response and weak expression of genes that stimulate the immune system were identified.