#microglia

#microglia

This could open up some interesting possibilities for therapeutic interventions for depression-like behaviors or maladaptive changes in motivational behaviors down the road where microglia are known to play a really important role.

A fresh supply of the immune cells that keep the brain tidy might one day help to treat a host of conditions, from ultra-rare genetic disorders to more familiar scourges, such as Alzheimer's disease. In the past few months, a spate of new studies have highlighted the potential of a technique called microglia replacement and explored ways to make it safer and more effective. "This approach is very promising," says Pasqualina Colella, who studies gene and cell therapy at Stanford University School of Medicine in California. "But the caveat is the toxicity of the procedure."