Study Reveals How the Germ Behind Flesh-Eating Disease Hijacks Neurons to Avoid Immune Destruction and Ensure Its Own Survival
Harvard Medical SchoolAlthough rare, flesh-eating disease is challenging to diagnose promptly and can rapidly become fatal. A study conducted in mice reveals that neurons play key role in the development of flesh-eating disease. The findings show that a bacterium that causes flesh-eating disease hijacks the normal crosstalk between nervous and immune systems to avoid immune destruction, thus ensuring its own survival. Two approaches prevent infections, halt disease progression in mice.