Immune cells in the brain of Alzheimer’s patients can have both protective and detrimental effects. Therefore, it is important to better understand the inflammatory response in the brain – the so-called neuroinflammation. In her dissertation, Carola Focke has made a substantial contribution using imaging techniques. In a mouse model, she has demonstrated that glucose metabolism and the activity of immune cells in the brain during physiological aging are closely connected. Furthermore, Focke has shown in a longitudinal study that neuroinflammation correlated significantly with subsequent cognitive performance. These findings emphasize the important role of neuroinflammation in the pathophysiology of Alzheimer’s disease and open up new diagnostic and therapeutic possibilities.

Carola Focke works currently as a clinical scientist in the Department of General and Visceral Surgery at the Medical Center – University of Freiburg.