Blood Brain Barrier

[peglem]

Some of Buster's comments got me looking into this and what could cause it to not be such a barrier. I'm not good at interpreting a lot of jargon, so this sight appealed to me: http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/bbb.html

 

and from there:

Circumventricular Organs

 

There are several areas of the brain where the BBB is weak. This allows substances to cross into the brain somewhat freely. These areas are known as "circumventricular organs". Through the circumventricular organs the brain is able to monitor the makeup of the blood. The circumventricular organs include:

 

* Pineal body: Secretes melatonin and neuroactive peptides. Associated with circadian rhythms.

* Neurohypophysis (posterior pituitary): Releases neurohormones like oxytocin and vasopressin into the blood.

* Area postrema: "Vomiting center": when a toxic substance enters the bloodstream it will get to the area postrema and may cause the animal to throw up. In this way, the animal protects itself by eliminating the toxic substance from its stomach before more harm can be done.

* Subfornical organ: Important for the regulation of body fluids.

* Vascular organ of the lamina terminalis: A chemosensory area that detects peptides and other molecules.

* Median eminence: Regulates anterior pituitary through release of neurohormones.

 

So, I went to Wikipedia and looked up each of the organs on that list. According to Wikipedia, these areas are devoid of BBB. I'm wondering if these areas may be the portals through which the antibodies are getting in to muck up the basal ganglia.