Sarah explores the latest research on astrocytes, gut bacteria and neuroinflammation with scientist and medical researcher Dr. Francisco Quintana. Dr. Quintana is a Professor of Neurology at Harvard Medical School and an Associate Scientist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts. He describes some of the causes of neuroinflammation including infection, tumours and auto-immune disease. So what does all of that have to do with astrocytes? 

Astrocytes are a type of glial cell found in the central nervous system. These cells were first described over 100 years ago and were given their celestial name because they are shaped like a star. Even though they are the most abundant type of cell in the brain, Dr. Quintana points out that we are just now beginning to understand their function. One of the important functions of the glymphatic system is in regulating the movement of fluids in and out of the brain. Once seen as having more of a supportive role in the brain, astrocytes are now understood to help regulate inflammation - an important finding in the study of diseases such as Multiple Sclerosis, Alzheimers and Parkinson’s disease. In fact, Dr. Quintana states that the astrocytes can, “boost and drive inflammation and that’s very important because, so far, we have no therapies to actually suppress those pro-inflammatory activities.”

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