Aging-induced Cognitive Vulnerability to Infection and Injury: Role of Microglia
(5/9/2012) 67 minutes

description:

The biological causes of cognitive declines that occur during normal healthy aging remain obscure. It has frequently been observed that such declines occur precipitously after the individual has experienced a peripheral inflammatory event such as infection or surgery. This presentation will trace pathways that lead from peripheral inflammation to neuroinflammation, with the exaggerated neuroinflammatory events in the aging individual that are mediated by microglia, being causal. These inflammatory processes, such as interleukin-1 production, will, in turn, be shown to inhibit growth factors that are necessary for neural plasticity and memory. Such studies transcend disease state, and provide critical new information about the potential role of inflammation in altering brain function in children and adults alike, and the relationship between peripheral and neuroinflammation.

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