Brain's inflammatory response in overdrive may contribute to common brain disorders

Depression, fatigue, and Alzheimer’s disease are among identified conditions

When the brain’s protective inflammatory response, activated by injury or disease, lasts for too long, it can contribute to debilitating mental and physical problems, according to research released today. These early findings advance knowledge about the link between brain inflammation and the progression of many common brain illnesses and disorders and suggest possible targets for future treatments. The findings were presented November 17 at Neuroscience 2014, the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience and the world’s largest source of emerging news about brain science and health.

Inflammation is a protective reaction that aids in the quick repair and regeneration of damaged brain cells. If it continues for too long, however, inflammation does more harm than good, damaging neurons and contributing to brain disorders such as depression, traumatic brain injury, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and certain types of fatigue. Thus, understanding how to keep inflammation in check is a major goal of neuroscience research.

These new findings show that:

• Inflammation in pregnant women due to infection or stress correlates with weaker connections between certain brain regions in their infant children. Read more.
• Feeding mice an inflammation-causing high-fat diet during pregnancy increases depression-like behavior in the mothers and their offspring. Read more.
• A new imaging “tracer” offers clinicians a tool for following the progression of inflammation-related changes in the brain associated with Alzheimer’s disease, perhaps enhancing the ability to diagnose and monitor the disease. Read more.
• A new lab technique is helping scientists better understand how inflammation leads to fatigue. Read more.
• Estrogen-producing cells in the brains of songbirds help inhibit inflammation, perhaps limiting neural damage after a brain injury. Read more.

“The findings from these studies are helping scientists develop a deeper understanding of the crucial role that neuroinflammation plays in the progression of degenerative brain diseases,” said Margaret McCarthy, PhD, an expert in neuroendocrinology at the University of Maryland in Baltimore. “It’s an exciting and rapidly developing field of study, and one that promises to lead to new therapies for treatment and prevention.”

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Society for Neuroscience press release