Microglia, from Biology to Pathology Meeting 20-21 April, 2017
On the 20th and 21st of April 2017, Bart Eggen (Department of Neuroscience, University Medical Center Groningen), Wia Baron (Department of Cellbiology, University Medical Center Groningen) and the Multiple Sclerosis Center Noord Nederland (MSCNN) organized a meeting “Microglia, from biology to pathology”. While microglia were already discovered in 1919-1921 by Pio del Rio-Hortega, it took decades until Georg Kreutzberg revived the interest in microglia in the 80 ‘s with his groundbreaking work on microglial activation.
Over the last 15 years we have witnessed the role of microglia in neurodegenerative and psychiatric diseases and their importance in regulating brain homeostasis in healthy individuals. Recent advancements in technology have made it possible to study microglia transcriptomes and epigenomes on a single cell level and certainly will push the boundaries of wat is known about microglial phenotypes and functions in the coming years.
During the two days of the meeting, invited speakers presented their latest scientific findings on normal microglial function and in neurodegenerative diseases with a special focus on multiple sclerosis. The near 150 attendees from all over the world participated in fruitful discussions and poster sessions. The overall atmosphere was open-minded, lively and very inspiring.
The organizers are very grateful to all the speakers, participants and the generous sponsors for making the Microglia, from Biology to Pathology Meeting a success.
