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Inflammatory conditions in the brain, including traumatic brain injury and degenerative diseases like Alzheimer's, could be targeted with an existing drug thanks to new research that shows it can work in brain cells.

In a study published in Brain, a team led by professor Nicholas Barnes at the University of Birmingham has identified a critical receptor that, when blocked, inhibits neuroinflammation. This first-of-its-kind work with human brain tissue demonstrates how interrupting this pathway could open the door to treating a wide spectrum of chronic neurological conditions. These include not only traumatic brain injury (TBI) but also neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease, and even psychiatric disorders such as depression and psychosis. These latter conditions are increasingly understood to have a neuroinflammatory component.

Using live cultures of human brain cells and slices of brain tissue obtained during neurosurgery, the researchers investigated the role of a receptor known as the P2X7 receptor, which is responsible for triggering inflammatory signaling.

Their findings reveal that these P2X7 receptors drive the release of key proteins called cytokines involved in controlling inflammation. By blocking this receptor with a specific antagonist, the team was able to significantly reduce the inflammatory response in human brain tissue.

Barnes, from the College of Medicine and Health at the University of Birmingham and the paper's corresponding author, said, "This exciting discovery marks a major step toward repurposing existing therapeutics to combat neuroinflammation at its source.

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