IL4 and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: The link between microglia and glutamate was further confirmed by the ability of riluzole to modulate the activation of primary rat microglia cell cultures by decreasing the release of LPS-induced pro-inflammatory markers and increasing the production of neuroprotective factors, such as IL-4; thus, this suggests that riluzole could be neuroprotective in ALS via microglia-mediated mechanisms [287].