IL6 and Alzheimer disease: Although it is not clear how systemic inflammation relates to disease processes occurring in the brain, studies suggest that peripheral inflammation and central inflammation are closely related.2 Microglia expressing IL-1 appear to be more highly associated with early-stage than late-stage Aβ plaques in AD brains, and IL-1 may be important in driving plaque progression.36 Furthermore, administration of Aβ centrally in mice induces a dose-dependent increase in peripheral IL-6,37 suggesting that there is some relationship between peripheral inflammatory markers and central disease progression.