Neurovirology and Brain Health—A Microglial Perspective

A healthy brain is an explicit prerequisite for exploiting life's full potential. For long, neurotropic virusViruses infectionInfection in the CNSCentral Nervous System (CNS) has been known to cause immune-mediated neuroinflammationNeuroinflammation. Recently, studies have revealed that an array of virusesViruses can deteriorate brain healthBrain health by instigating ageingAgeing-like brain changes in the context of brain physiology, sensory and motor deficits, cognitive impairment, and neuronal damage. They increase the risk of neurodegenerative disordersNeurodegenerative disorders, like Multiple SclerosisMultiple sclerosis, and age-associated neurological diseases like Alzheimer’s Disease and Parkinson’s Disease. HIV, West Nile virusViruses, Epstein-Barr virusViruses, Borna virusViruses, and recently added SARS-CoV-2 are some of the viral candidates associated with the apparently accelerated brain ageingAccelerated brain ageing. MicrogliaMicroglia, the key modulator of the brain’s immune environment, respond to these alterations through a set of molecular regulatory pathways. From being the risk factor to becoming the core controller of the pathology, these glial cellsGlial cells contribute significantly to the disease severity. In this chapter, we have discussed some virusesViruses as the underlying cause of ageingAgeing-like deterioration of brain healthBrain health. Further, we have discussed some age-associated neurological disordersNeurological disorders as the pathological implications of these virusViruses-mediated changes and the role of microgliaMicroglia in the process of virusViruses-induced accelerated brain ageingAccelerated brain ageing.