Impact of prenatal immune system disturbances on brain development.

As research into various aging-associated neurodegenerative disorders reveals their immense pathophysiological complexity, the focus is currently shifting from studying changes in an advanced disease state to investigations involving pre-symptomatic periods, possible aberrations in early life, and even abnormalities in brain development. Recent studies on the etiology of schizophrenia and autism spectrum disorders revealed a profound impact of neurodevelopmental disturbances on disease predisposition, onset and progression. Here, we discuss how a prenatal immune challenge can affect the developing brain-with a selective focus on the impact on microglia, the brain's immune cells-and the implications for brain aging and its associated risk of developing Alzheimer's disease.

Citation

Amrita Madhusudan, Prisca Vogel, Irene Knuesel. Impact of prenatal immune system disturbances on brain development. Journal of neuroimmune pharmacology : the official journal of the Society on NeuroImmune Pharmacology. 2013 Mar;8(1):79-86

Mesh Tags

Substances

PMID: 22580757

search → result