iPSC (Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell)

**What it means:** iPSCs are adult cells (like skin cells) that have been **reprogrammed** back to an embryonic-like state — they can become any cell type in the body. It's like hitting the "reset button" on a fully grown cell, turning it back into a blank canvas that can then be directed to become brain cells, heart cells, or in this case, **microglia** (brain immune cells). **Why they matter for MHS:** Patient-derived iPSCs allow researchers to take skin cells from someone with MHS, turn them into brain cells in a lab dish, and study what's going wrong. This gives a "living model" of MHS that's much more informative than just looking at gene sequences. The Volare Study has delivered the first patient-derived iPSC lines, which means researchers can now grow MHS patient brain cells for testing.