PYCARD and dementia: Notably, similar to early increases in Aβ and tauopathy, NLRP3 is already elevated in MCI, whereas caspase-1, ASC, NGSDMD, and cleaved IL1β are most prominent in AD dementia stages, aligning with a two-step model of inflammasome activation72 in which early misfolded Aβ/tau may prime NLRP3 and Chlamydia pneumoniae–induced cell damage further acts as a secondary signal to fully engage caspase-1–dependent cytokine processing and pyroptosis.