000			02309nam a22001577a 4500
008			220718b2020 |||||||| |||| 00| 0 eng d
020			_a9781524799199
082			_a612.8104 JAC-D
100			_aNakazawa, Donna Jackson
245			_aThe angel and the assassin : _bthe tiny brain cell that changed the course of medicine / _cDonna Jackson Nakazawa
260			_aNew York _bBallantine Books _c2020
300			_a300 p.
365			_aINR _b499.00.
500			_aA thrilling story of scientific detective work and medical potential that illuminates the newly understood role of microglia—an elusive type of brain cell that is vitally relevant to our everyday lives. “The rarest of books: a combination of page-turning discovery and remarkably readable science journalism.”—Mark Hyman, MD, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Food: What the Heck Should I Eat? NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY WIREDUntil recently, microglia were thought to be helpful but rather boring: housekeeper cells in the brain. But a recent groundbreaking discovery has revealed that they connect our physical and mental health in surprising ways. When triggered—and anything that stirs up the immune system in the body can activate microglia, including chronic stressors, trauma, and viral infections—they can contribute to memory problems, anxiety, depression, and Alzheimer’s. Under the right circumstances, however, microglia can be coaxed back into being angelic healers, able to make brain repairs in ways that help alleviate symptoms and hold the promise to one day prevent disease.With the compassion born of her own experience, award-winning journalist Donna Jackson Nakazawa illuminates this newly understood science, following practitioners and patients on the front lines of treatments that help to “reboot” microglia. In at least one case, she witnesses a stunning recovery—and in others, significant relief from pressing symptoms, offering new hope to the tens of millions who suffer from mental, cognitive, and physical health issues.Hailed as a “riveting,” “stunning,” and “visionary,” The Angel and the Assassin offers us a radically reconceived picture of human health and promises to change everything we thought we knew about how to heal ourselves.
650			_aMicroglia
999			_c79623 _d79623