The body's immune system could be harnessed to fight back against Alzheimer's disease, research suggests.

Turning off a part of the immune system cleared away harmful brain deposits and improved memory, the mouse study found.

US scientists, reporting their discovery in the journal Nature Medicine, said it was like a "vacuum cleaner" had been working in the brain.

What is neat about this study is that taking away the amyloid plaques actually improved memory....very promising.