In Virginia, found a new network of lymphocytes
Last reviewed: 23.04.2024
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A group of scientists from the University of Virginia made a discovery that shocked the medical community. In one of the scientific publications an article was published in which experts told about the existence of an earlier unknown lymphatic system, which is in the shell of the brain. At this stage, the lymph node is found only in rodents, but scientists suggest that such a structure may well be in humans.
Head of the research project Jonathan Kipnis noted that for him the discovery was a surprise, since he believed that the structure of the human body had been studied thoroughly for a couple of centuries ago. Based on the existing knowledge of the structure of the body, the detected network of lymphocytes could not be located in the brain envelope, but as it turned out, they are there, in addition, penetrates into the membranes of the spinal cord and brain.
According to Kipnis, the experts had previously ignored the shell, since they believed that it was necessary only for thermal isolation of the brain. In all medical instructions, students who started to study the CNS, first of all, were recommended to remove the meninges.
Detection of the lymphatic network became possible after scientists decided to examine under the microscope the brain envelope of the rodent. After the specialists found a way to fix the shell under a microscope, they noticed that the immune cells form on the shell a kind of pattern that resembled a vascular network.
After several tests, experts concluded, these vessels connect fluid from the spinal cord to the lymph system.
The formation of fluid occurs in the ventricles of the brain, it fills the subarachnoid spaces. Discovered by the Kipnis group of lymphocytes, move away from the lymph nodes located on the neck, and enter the meninges.
Experts believe that this discovery will allow us to understand the relationship that is observed with the development of diseases of the nervous system and the state of other organs (at this stage, specialists can not explain such phenomena). For example, it was found that with diabetes mellitus in 65% of cases, dementia develops, and in Alzheimer's, patients who often suffered from cold infections, lost memory several times faster. Most likely, these and other phenomena are associated with the existing lymphatic network in the brain envelope, which experts previously did not even suspect.
Colleagues from the academic community, given the importance of the discovery made by the Kipnis group, suggested that brain diseases and immunity may be interrelated.
Roxanne Carare of the University of Southampton, who studies the problems of aging associated with vessel changes and cerebral circulation disorders, noted that her colleagues did not reveal a link between the lymph system and the brain itself, but only its membranes. She believes that it should not be premature to talk about the connection between diseases that directly affect the brain tissue and immunity.
James Nicholl, a professor of neuropathology, suggested that the discovery could help understand the inflammatory and infectious diseases of the nervous system, and the professor expressed his regret that colleagues from the University of Virginia did not check whether there is such a lymphatic system in humans.
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