Findings by researchers from Germany support the view that hyperactive immune cells in the brain can have a protective effect in the course of neurodegenerative diseases. Experts (with SyNergy members Christian Haass, Arthur Liesz, Johannes Levin, and Dominik Paquet) from Deutsches Zentrum für Neurodegenerative Erkrankungen (DZNE), LMU and LMU Klinikum report on this in the scientific magazine “The EMBO Journal”. The scientists are currently considering that modulating the activity of immune cells in the brain via a receptor called TREM2 may significantly impact neurodegenerative disease processes. Thus, they see activating TREM2 as a promising approach for drug research.