Untangling the relationship between microglia and tau in Alzheimer's disease

Autopsy and imaging studies have demonstrated a typical pattern of tau progression in Alzheimer's disease (AD), spreading to previously unaffected regions in an anatomical sequence of 'Braak' stages. In a recent study, Pascoal et al. provide evidence that microgliosis colocalizes with tau in a Braak-like pattern, furthering the notion that microglial activation is strongly related to the propagation of tangle pathology.