Microglia: A Standing Ovation, Please!

[Guest guest]

Dear friends,

How many times have we heard that the brain of autistic children are " miswired " ?

I want to share some research I found last night that provides one explanation

of how the brain in children with autism may be miswired.

First of all, watch the following video on how the neurons talk to each other:

http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/addiction/reward/neurontalk.html

Then, watch the video about Alzheimer's disease immunology starting at the

minute 7:48. You will see how most of the neuron connections in the brain

disappear in the presence of microglial activation.

Alzheimer immunology Part 1 - Youtube video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cmRpOh4uMzw

Now, what I found yesterday is that researchers of the University of Rochester

Medical Center (just a few miles away from were was born ) published a

study last month that suggests that the way that neurons communicate through the

synapses and synapse gaps is engineered by the microglial cells.

Microglia: A Standing Ovation, Please!

New research shows microglia are star performers in the brain.

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/brain-sense/201101/microglia-

standing-ovation-please

The synaptic gap is the space between neurons in which electrical impulses are

transmitted. Neurons do not touch, so they do not wire themselves up like

circuits. Instead, chemicals called neurotransmitters carry an impulse across

the space (called the synaptic gap or synaptic cleft) between neurons. The more

frequently neurons communicate in this way, the stronger the connection becomes.

The researchers found a way to activate or inhibit microglial activation in

animals. " The researchers used two imaging techniques to study the microglia in

the animals' brains during these various stages. When the lights were off,

microglia contacted more synapses, were more likely to reach toward a particular

type of synapse, tended to be larger, and were more likely to destroy a synapse.

When the lights came back on, most of those activities reversed. "

So what this suggests and it can be explained by behavior in the children with

autism, brain SPECT scans and lab tests that one way in which brain function is

affected is by microglial activation affecting the way that the neurons

communicate which each other.

This is why SCIA believes that it is so important to inhibit microglial

activation in children with autism.

Regards,

Founder and President of Stop Calling It Autism!

http://www.stopcallingitautism.org

Love, Gabby. :0)

http://www.astenzymes.com

http://4autism2.teamasea.com

http://stemcellforautism.blogspot.com/

http://www.facebook.com/gabby911

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=113527605373371 & ref=mf

http://twitter.com/stemcell4autism

 

" I know of nobody who is purely Autistic or purely neurotypical. Even God had

some Autistic moments, which is why the planets all spin. " ~ Jerry Newport  

[Guest guest]

Why again is it suggested to give microglia a standing ovation? Because we know

they have the ability to do damage?

And when the person states below " Neurons do not touch, so they do not wire

themselves up like circuits. Instead, chemicals called neurotransmitters carry

an impulse across the space (called the synaptic gap or synaptic cleft) between

neurons. The more frequently neurons communicate in this way, the stronger the

connection becomes. "

Why not give neurotransmitters a standing ovation? Microglia appear to inhibit,

even destroy neurotransmitters... and the " happy " nerve cells... and the

" connections " or the synapses or neural communication.

" Once in the brain, the cytokine signal stimulates microglia to secrete

inflammatory mediators (ie, cytokines, chemokines, and proteases) from its

monocytes and macrophages. These local inflammatory mediators can affect

neuronal function and synaptic plasticity by increasing oxidative stress and

weakening astrocytic tight junctions. They also increase metabolism and

reuptake of neurotransmitters (ie, serotonin, noradrenalin, and dopamine)

http://jama.ama-assn.org/content/305/7/673.2.extract

AND...

Microglia promote colonization of brain tissue by breast cancer cells in a

Wnt-dependent way

Abstract

Although there is increasing evidence that blood-derived macrophages support

tumor progression, it is still unclear whether specialized resident macrophages,

such as brain microglia, also play a prominent role in metastasis formation.

Here, we show that microglia enhance invasion and colonization of brain tissue

by breast cancer cells, serving both as active transporters and guiding rails.

This is antagonized by inactivation of microglia as well as by the Wnt inhibitor

Dickkopf-2. Proinvasive microglia demonstrate altered morphology, but neither

upregulation of M2-like cytokines nor differential gene expression. Bacterial

lipopolysacharide shifts tumor-educated microglia into a classical M1 phenotype,

reduces their proinvasive function, and unmasks inflammatory and Wnt signaling

as the most strongly regulated pathways. Histological findings in human brain

metastases underline the significance of these results. In conclusion, microglia

are critical for the successful colonization of the brain by epithelial cancer

cells, suggesting inhibition of proinvasive microglia as a promising

antimetastatic strategy. © 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc. "

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/glia.21022/full

So if the goal is " to inhibit microglial activation " then I am confused- why

again microglia: a standing ovation, please?!!

Clearly there is still so much to be learned about the brain and how it works.

I'm almost 100% positive that they will learn in the coming years the goal isn't

always to inhibit microglial activation. I have a strong hunch the answer

doesn't always lie in a drug either -even though I'm sure that's the goal of the

current research and one that will work for some in the short run but with side

effects on other organs of the body.

What is much easier to understand and applaud is the new research linking the

lack of the neurotransmitter serotonin to autism -which will further be explored

with diet. So turkey sandwiches for everyone! I updated my fun Thankgiving day

blog due to the newest findings

http://pursuitofresearch.org/2010/11/24/dont-let-the-turkeys-get-you-down-becaus\

e-they-cant/

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