Alcohol Triggers Brain Immune Cells to Destroy Structural Matrix…

What BBN said about it

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   Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorAlcohol doesn't only act on neurons, a new mouse study finds, it also triggers the brain's immune cells to break down its structural matrix, ScienceAlert reports.

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   Vera Bullock · Co-AnchorThe study, published in the journal Immunity, followed those cells, called microglia, in real time, and they changed shape and activity within about an hour of the alcohol.

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   Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorThat's before the peak sedation even set in.

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   Vera Bullock · Co-AnchorSo the microglia aren't victims, they're taking initiative!

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   Vera Bullock · Co-AnchorSenior author Dimitrios Davalos of the Cleveland Clinic says they drive the harm, they don't just respond to it.

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   Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorInitiative.

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   Vera Bullock · Co-AnchorThe cells lost branches and shrank their surveillance territory, and it got worse with repeated doses. I'd call that a lean, streamlined restructuring.

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   Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorThe catch is that it's mice. Though brain tissue from six deceased people with alcohol use disorder showed similar matrix disruption.

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   Vera Bullock · Co-AnchorAnd mice with the MyD88 gene silenced in their microglia had less neuronal damage and less sedation, so there's hope, and the lab is looking at ways to protect the matrix.

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    Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorSo the part of you that's supposed to guard your brain is the one that stayed for last call.