Moreover, although IL-1RA entry to the brain is thought to occur primarily when and where the BBB has been breached [39] we observed similar levels in NBH and ME7 animals arguing against the idea that existing neurodegenerative disease made the brain more permeable to IL-1RA (2) Cytokine and chemokine analysis shows that IL-1RA blocked IL-1 action in the blood (Fig. 2c) but did not prevent LPS-induced changes in hippocampal inflammatory transcripts, including de novo IL-1 in the brain. This evidence concerns the gene IL1R1 and neurodegenerative disease.