VIDEO: ‘Very active field’ of research examines glial cells as targets for therapy

In this video from the Annual Meeting of the American Neurological Association, Jennifer Orthmann-Murphy, MD, PhD, reviews the plenary session she chaired that highlighted current research on targeting glia cells for therapy.

Presenters in the session discussed “high-impact recent advances in understanding how glial cells contribute to disease in the brain,” Orthmann-Murphy told Healio Neurology. She is an assistant professor of neurology at the University of Pennsylvania and a member of the 2020-2021 ANA scientific program advisory committee.

The session focused on several different diseases, including MS and Alzheimer’s disease, and various ways in which glial cells could be affected to alter disease course, according to Orthmann-Murphy, who reviewed each presenter’s specific approach.

The session provided “an introduction” to these types of cells, with a “very board overview” of the many types of glial cells, and offered different approaches to how they might be targeted, she continued. Orthmann-Murphy hopes to “diversify and expand” on this topic in the future, as it is “a very active field.”