Three Alzheimer’s genetic risk factors linked to immune cell dysfunction

A new study has uncovered details of how a type of immune cell helps the brain get rid of the tiny amyloid-beta aggregates that can clump together to form the plaques characteristic of Alzheimer’s. The researchers found that TREM2 mutations can derail the immune cell’s plaque-clearing activity, as can two other genes already known to increase a person’s risk for Alzheimer’s: APOE and APOJ (known as clusterin).