Neuroinflammation is essential for memories and neuronal health, a study overturns beliefs

Neuroinflammation, linked to diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's, is now showing a surprisingly positive side. A study conducted by researchers at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York, published in the journal Nature, has demonstrated that inflammation of specific neurons is crucial for the formation of lasting memories and for maintaining the stability of neuronal DNA. The research, led by Jelena Radulovic, revealed that the ability to memorize past experiences depends on a sort of DNA "break-and-repair" process within neurons in the hippocampus, the brain region considered the center of memory. This cycle of "restoring" our genetic material is not only crucial for memory, the researchers say, but also acts as a protective mechanism against those DNA "defects" that characterize premature aging and psychiatric and neurodegenerative disorders. The research results were submitted by Elizabeth Wood, a young researcher from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, to the first edition of the Excellence in Neuroinflammation Award, and were deemed excellent by the Scientific Committee of the Francesco della Valle Foundation, which promoted the contest. The Foundation, established in 2023 in memory of a great innovator in the Italian pharmaceutical sector, Francesco della Valle, is committed to supporting the projects of young researchers in the cutting-edge field of neuroinflammation. Winning joint first place among over 40 applications from young researchers worldwide, the study presented by Elizabeth Wood highlights that blocking neuroinflammation risks compromising our ability to remember long-term memories and also increasing DNA damage. These discoveries, according to experts, open up new and promising avenues for understanding how the human mind works and for developing innovative therapies. Rather than "switching off" inflammation, future therapeutic strategies could focus on "regulating" it, preserving its positive aspects, which are essential for memory and neuronal health. "Much of the research we reviewed focuses on the dark side of neuroinflammation, its role in causing neurodegenerative or autoimmune diseases," says Vincenzo Di Marzo, president of the Foundation's scientific committee and associate director of research at the Institute of Biomolecular Chemistry of the National Research Council (ICB-CNR). "The study by Vladimir Jovasevic, Elizabeth Wood, and colleagues reveals a bright side, capable of protecting our memories, while also reminding us that inflammation, in general, in its early stages, is still a physiological response." The implications of this research will be discussed in detail at the upcoming conference on Neuroinflammation that the Francesco della Valle Foundation is organizing in Italy in October.