Thoughts on neuroinflammation: are persistent pathogens involved

Here I share basic thoughts on neuroinflammation and persistent infection. Inflammation (in the brain or elsewhere) is often generated in response to pathogens or microbiome imbalance. A number of studies now show that bacterial, viral and fungal populations appear to persist in the human brain. Also, microbes in the gut can modulate the immune response in the brain via the "gut-brain axis." This means we must frequently ask: "Could activated immune cells in the brain (like microglia), and associated neuroinflammation, be a response to persistent infectious agents??" I reference the following studies: 1 Infection of Fungi and Bacteria in Brain Tissue From Elderly Persons and Patients With Alzheimer’s Disease: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnagi.2018.00159/full 2. Multiscale Analysis of Independent Alzheimer’s Cohorts Finds Disruption of Molecular, Genetic, and Clinical Networks by Human Herpesvirus: https://www.cell.com/neuron/fulltext/S0896-6273( 18)30421-5 3. Microglial control of astrocytes in response to microbial metabolites: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29769726 4. Innate immunity and neuroinflammation in the CNS: the role of microglia in Toll-like receptor-mediated neuronal injury: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19705460

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