BCG vaccination reduces tau pathology and restores cognition in PS19 mice
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A study published in Science Advances on October 23, 2026 reports that vaccination with BCG, the tuberculosis vaccine, mitigates tau-driven neurodegeneration in PS19 tauopathy mice. Treated animals showed reduced hippocampal phospho-tau and microgliosis while neuronal markers were preserved. Volumetric T2-MRI indicated attenuated brain atrophy, and glutamate-weighted chemical exchange saturation transfer MRI signals increased. Behavioral and physiological outcomes also improved: better performance on novel object recognition, maintained body weight, and longer survival. A hippocampal disease-associated gene expression signature in vaccinated mice shifted close to healthy control levels. The work positions BCG, an already widely used vaccine, as a potential repurposing candidate against tauopathies such as Alzheimer's disease. Whether the findings translate to humans remains untested.
Written by a model from the reports · updated 3 hours ago
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- Sci AdvBCG vaccination mitigates tau pathology and restores cognitive function in PS19 mice.
BCG vaccination in PS19 tauopathy mice reduced hippocampal phospho-tau and microgliosis while preserving neuronal markers. Volumetric T2-MRI showed attenuated brain atrophy and increased glutamate-weighted chemical exchange saturation transfer MRI signals, with improved novel object recognition performance, body-weight maintenance and survival, and hippocampal disease-associated gene expression near healthy control levels.
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