Microglia rapidly adopt an activated phenotype in response to brain injury and disease, which suggests that they could act as diagnostic markers of neurodegenerative disease onset or progression. In this article, Perry et al. review the relationship between activated microglia and neurodegenerative diseases and discuss the interactions between microglial phenotype, systemic inflammation and neurodegenerative disease progression.
- V. Hugh Perry
- James A. R. Nicoll
- Clive Holmes