Science writer: The deterioration of cognitive faculties associated with Alzheimer' s disease is evidently caused by the activities of microglia -- the brain' s own immune cells  For one thing, this deterioration can be slowed by some anti-inflammatory drugs, such as acetylsalicylic acid  Furthermore, patients with Alzheimer' s are unable to eliminate the protein BA from the brain, where it accumulates and forms deposits
The microglia attack these protein deposits by releasing poisons that destroy surrounding healthy brain cells, thereby impairing the brain' s cognitive functions
The protein BA directly interferes with the cognitive functions of the brain.