New Research - Central Nervous System Lymphatic Vessels

[MomWithOCDSon]

My DS actually found this via one of his favorite web sites. Fascinating, and hopefully will bring something additional to the table for those of us who already live in a world in which the relationship between the brain and inflammation is well-accepted rather than "controversial."

 

http://mentalfloss.com/article/65435/scientists-discover-new-part-human-body

 

This find is the neuroimmunological version of stumbling across a unicorn. Not only had the system gone undiscovered until now, but textbooks argued against its very existence. As a result, neuroimmunologists have struggled to understand the mechanisms of brain drainage and inflammation.

 

When all other tissues in the body become inflamed, molecules or pathogens are drained into the local lymph cells, where immune cells get activated to continue the fight. “In the brain, we thought this system didn’t exist. When we first saw those vessels, I completely freaked out," Kipnis tells mental_floss. "This discovery is as exciting as it gets.”