Using the urea cycle to shift astrocytes from harmful to helpful in Alzheimer’s disease

Astrocytes are brain cells that react to Alzheimer's disease pathology in ways that can have either beneficial or detrimental effects. In this issue of Cell Metabolism, Ju et al. outline a novel strategy for coercing astrocytes to a neuroprotective state by maintaining liver-like detoxification in the brain without producing damaging byproducts.