Think scientists have anatomy and physiology all figured out?
Think again!
Hi everyone!
Crystal here for DNews talking about how the more scientists learn about the body, the
less we really seem to know … what am I talking about?
A recent discovery by scientists at the University of Virginia revealed a connection between
the central nervous system (CNS) and the immune system that had gone unnoticed for centuries.
This discovery challenges current theories about basic brain-body interactions and could
throw our current ideas on the development of some neurological diseases completely out
the window!
After learning about this discovery, one scientist was quoted as saying “they’ll have to
rewrite the textbooks.”
I find results like these so exciting because they demonstrate that the pursuit of new knowledge
is a dynamic process.
In the journal Nature, the scientists from UVA’s School of Medicine reported the existence
of previously unknown vasculature carrying immune cells between the meninges -the protective
tissue around the brain- and the cervical lymph nodes that are the hubs of our immune
system.
This discovery was made the same way a lot of big scientific discoveries are made: by
accident.
A scientist developing a new way to prepare slides of intact mouse meningeal tissue noticed
an unexpected pattern of immune cells in the tissue under his microscope, and, because
he’s a scientist, he just had to know why.
In science, unexpected results can mean big discoveries and this was no exception.
In addition to draining interstitial fluids, classic lymphatic vessels carry the white
blood cells of the immune system throughout the body.
Prior to the discovery of these new vessels, no direct link between the brain and spinal
cord and the Immune system had been found and it was thought that the brain was an area
of mild “immune privilege” meaning able to tolerate insult or disease exposure without
eliciting a rush of inflammation to the affected region.
This assumption left scientists in the dark about the mechanisms behind many neurological
diseases that involve altered immunity.
But now that this connection has been discovered, there is already speculation about whether
impaired drainage or malfunction of these newly discovered lymphatic vasculature could
contribute to the buildup of plaques in Alzheimer's disease, and scientists have a new place to
look when investigating the immune attacks experienced by patients with Multiple Sclerosis.
The discovery of direct interaction between the CNS and the immune system changes how
we think about the brain’s response to injury and the development of disease.
Obviously, more research is needed and these groundbreaking results are nonetheless preliminary.
But this exciting discovery will lead to further investigation into the vasculature structure
surrounding the human brain and hopefully a more detailed understanding of human health
and physiology.
On the topic of new discoveries, some scientists are finding that young blood might have rejuvenating
properties - at least in mice - but they’re still trying to figure out why.
Julia has more in this video