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A new network of lymphatic vessels has been found in Virginia
Last reviewed: 02.07.2025
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A group of scientists from the University of Virginia made a discovery that shocked the medical community. An article was published in one of the scientific publications, in which specialists spoke about the existence of a previously unknown lymphatic system, which is located in the membrane of the brain. At this stage, the lymphatic network has only been found in rodents, but scientists suggest that a similar structure may well exist in humans.
The head of the research project, Jonathan Kipnis, noted that the discovery was a surprise to him, since he believed that the structure of the human body had been thoroughly studied a couple of centuries ago. Based on the existing knowledge of the structure of the body, the discovered network of lymph vessels could not be located in the membrane of the brain, but as it turned out, they are there, and in addition, they penetrate the membranes of the spinal cord and brain.
According to Kipnis, specialists previously ignored the membrane, because they believed that it was only needed for thermal insulation of the brain. In all medical instructions, students who began studying the central nervous system were first advised to remove the meninges.
The discovery of the lymphatic network became possible after scientists decided to examine the rodent's brain membrane under a microscope. After the specialists found a way to fix the membrane under the microscope, they noticed that immune cells formed a kind of pattern on the membrane that resembled a vascular network.
After conducting several tests, experts concluded that these vessels connect fluid from the spinal cord with the lymphatic system.
The fluid is formed in the ventricles of the brain, and fills the subarachnoid space. The lymphatic vessels discovered by Kipnis's group extend from the lymph nodes located in the neck and enter the meninges.
Experts believe that the discovery will help understand the connection observed in the development of diseases of the nervous system and the state of other organs (at this stage, experts cannot explain such phenomena). For example, it was found that with diabetes mellitus, dementia develops in 65% of cases, and with Alzheimer's, patients who often suffered from colds lost their memory several times faster. Most likely, these and other phenomena are associated with the existing lymphatic network in the brain membrane, which experts had not even suspected before.
Colleagues from the scientific community, considering the importance of the discovery made by Kipnis's group, suggested that diseases of the brain and immunity may be interconnected.
Roxana Carare from the University of Southampton, who studies ageing problems associated with vascular changes and cerebrovascular accidents, noted that her colleagues had not identified a link between the lymphatic system and the brain itself, but only with its membranes. She believes that it is premature to talk about a link between diseases that directly affect brain tissue and immunity.
James Nicholl, a professor of neuropathology, suggested that the discovery could help understand inflammatory and infectious diseases of the nervous system, and the professor also expressed regret that colleagues from the University of Virginia did not check whether humans have a similar lymphatic system.
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