Results suggest that the lymphatic system, responsible for eliminating waste from the brain, plays an important role in this process
Research from the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis identified that the human body’s immune system monitors the brain through the dural sinuses, venous channels found in the brain. The results suggest that the lymphatic system, responsible for eliminating waste from the brain, plays an important role in this monitoring.
The discovery was made by a team led by Jonathan Kipnis, professor emeritus at the institution, and postdoctoral researcher Justin Rustenhoven. It overturns an assumption long held in the field, that the brain’s various natural barriers completely isolate it from the immune system.
The identified monitoring mechanism is critical to mitigating inflammation in the brain, which can lead to neurological and psychiatric illnesses such as multiple sclerosis and depression.
The full story is available on the Dana Foundation website.
The article with the research results, published in the journal Cell, is available here.
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