Researchers at the Mayo Clinic in Florida have conducted studies that suggest brain inflammation is not a trigger that leads to a build-up of Alzheimer’s disease-causing plaques. It could actually be manipulated to cleanse the brain of those plaques.

Researchers induced inflammation in the brains of laboratory mice predisposed to develop Alzheimer’s disease. The inflammation did not spur the development of plaques. Rather, it prevented the plaques from forming and cleared existing plaques.

Most people who study Alzheimer’s disease believe that inflammation of the brain causes the build-up of amyloid-beta plaques, which are associated with the development of Alzheimer’s, according to lead researchers Pritam Das, Ph.D. By selectively manipulating brain inflammation, researchers could develop an effective treatment for neurological disorders associated with a buildup of proteins and plaques. The research appears in the online issue of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology Journal.