Recent findings published by the journal
Nature suggest that the missing link
between the central nervous system and the immune system has been found. According
to Josh Barney, researchers at the University of Virginia recently made a
revolutionary discovery that will allow a better understanding about the
connection between the human brain and the immune system. These findings
overturn current anatomy textbook knowledge and may be the path to better understanding
neurological diseases such as autism, multiple sclerosis, and Parkinson’s.
The lymphatic system consists of a
network of organs, tissues, and lymphatic vessels that help the body eliminate
unwanted substances and waste. It plays an important role in our bodies by helping
to keep it healthy by eliminating infections and disease as it transports
lymph, a fluid containing white-blood cells, throughout the body. Until
recently, it was believed that the brain was the only organ that didn’t have a
direct communication to the lymphatic system. Therefore, according to
scientists, there was a different understanding about how the brain eliminated
excess or waste substances because lymphatic vessels allegedly stopped before
reaching the brain (Mercola 1).
However, these new findings, point to
the existence of lymphatic vessels located in the meninges, the membranes that
act as protective barriers covering the brain, as the connectors to the nervous
system.
The experimental procedure that allowed
these results ,were performed on mice. Researcher Antoine Louveau, was able to
develop an innovative method to examine the meninges of a mouse as a whole: ‘
[they] fixed the meninges within the skullcap, so that the
tissue is secured in its physiological condition, and then we dissected it. If
we had done it the other way around, it wouldn’t have worked.’ As a result, the
lymphatic vessels, hidden behind blood vessels, were discovered. These findings
suggest a new mapping of the lymphatic system as follows:
Maps of the lymphatic system: old (left) and updated to reflect UVA's discovery.
Credit: University of Virginia Health System
The implications of this
discovery are yet to be fully understood. Nevertheless, the intricate
relationship between the nervous system and the immune system that these
impressive findings suggest, may serve as an avenue to treat and understand
complex neurological diseases. It also raises many questions regarding what is
yet to discover about the complexity of the human body.
Works Cited
Barney, Josh. “Researchers
Find Textbook-Altering Link Between Brain. Immune System.” UVA today. 01 Jun.
2015. Web. 29 Oct. 2015. http://news.virginia.edu/content/researchers-find-textbook-altering-link-between-brain-immune-system
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2015/06/25/brain-immune-system-connection.aspx
This post was particularly interesting to me. My brother had leukemia (the cancer of the blood-forming tissues including the lymphatic system) when he was 3 years old and then relapsed again when he was 5. (he has been in remission for 21 years now) I never even realized that the brain was thought to have no direct communication to the lymphatic system. I am really curious to see what benefits this new knowledge has and to learn more about it. Hopefully it can be used in terms of treatments to Leukemia.
ReplyDeleteI think that this post perfectly shows the difficult position students and professors are in when it comes to education in the sciences. With continued research being published daily, how do we know the information we are reading today is correct? How can we justify hours of studying on material that may be voided tomorrow? In terms of this scientific finding, it is fascinating to learn a whole new avenue of communication in the nervous system, especially with a system essential to our survival. Of course, all findings should be incorporated into new textbooks to educate the next set of students, but I also think it would be a good idea to compile all of the changes/contradictions to be distributed to students that have already learned the old material. Hopefully this finding will open doors for neurological disease research. I can’t wait to see the continual changes in scientific findings.
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