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Study identifies autoimmunity as a key component in dementia causing pathologies
1 November 2022
A new study involving researchers from the Whitehall II Study suggests that autoimmune dysfunction may play a key role in diseases causing dementia and could be a potential drug target.
In the study, Professors Archana Singh-Manoux, Gill Livingston and Mika Kivim盲ki, along with researchers from the US and Finland, show that dementia-causing conditions such as Alzheimer麓s disease may have an autoimmune component that is modifiable with currently available drugs. The study has been聽published in Nature Aging.
Immune system and blood鈥揵rain barrier dysfunction are implicated in the development of Alzheimer鈥檚 and other dementia-causing diseases, but their causal role remains unknown.聽The authors performed Mendelian randomization for 1,827鈥塱mmune system- and blood鈥揵rain barrier-related biomarkers and identified 127鈥塸otential causal risk factors for dementia-causing diseases.聽The findings suggest that autoimmunity is a modifiable component in dementia-causing diseases. The study聽also suggests that anti-inflammatory drugs might prevent dementia.聽 聽 聽聽
Professor Mika Kivim盲ki, Director of the Whitehall II study, said:
鈥淎ccumulation of amyloid beta and tau are hallmarks of Alzheimer鈥檚 disease but drugs preventing this accumulation have not reversed dementia. Our findings highlight an additional feature of dementia pathogenesis, the death of brain neurons caused by autoimmune response against body鈥檚 own healthy cells and tissues. Our observational data suggest that targeting the brain-damaging autoimmunity by anti-inflammatory drugs might provide an avenue to prevent dementia. Obviously clinical trials are still needed to determine their effectiveness in practice.鈥�
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