An antibody treatment that blocks immune cells from entering the brain limited neurodegeneration in mice with Alzheimer’s-like disease, Washington University researchers report. The antibody targets CXCR3, a receptor that guides T cells into the brain, cutting brain-infiltrating T cells by about half.

Treated mice retained roughly 40 per cent more tissue in memory centres than untreated animals. The findings suggest harmful immune responses accelerate brain damage in Alzheimer’s models.

Scientists caution this is a mouse study and not a human treatment; extensive further research is needed before any clinical application. The work opens a new avenue for understanding how the immune system contributes to neurodegeneration and could eventually inform new therapeutic strategies. The study adds to growing evidence that the immune system plays a central role in Alzheimer’s progression, a shift from the long focus on amyloid plaques alone. The team now plans to explore whether modulating this immune pathway could slow neurodegeneration in other models of brain disease.