A new study suggests that exposure to nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTIs), drugs commonly used for HIV and hepatitis B, is associated with a reduced risk of developing Alzheimer's disease. The protective effect was consistent across different patient populations and remained significant even after adjusting for potential biases. This finding provides epidemiologic support for the idea that inflammasome inhibition through NRTIs could benefit patients with Alzheimer's disease, potentially paving the way for clinical trials of inflammasome inhibitors in AD.