The connection of the central nervous system and its function has long been known in relation to the immune system.  Diseases that affect the central nervous system such as Autism, MS and Parkinson’s have immune related mechanism that is associated with the molecular pathways of disease development and progression. All the same our knowledge of these mechanism and the root cause of their development remain incomplete.

New research however confirms an actual connection between the immune system and the brain, beyond the molecular level, on a structural basis. The finding of new vessels connecting the lymphatic system to the brain call for a reassessment of basic assumptions in neuroimmunology.

To read more about this intresting discovery see the original research published online June 1 2015 doi:10.1038/nature14432: “Structural and functional features of central nervous system lymphatic vessels” by Antoine Louveau, Igor Smirnov, Timothy J. Keyes, Jacob D. Eccles, Sherin J. Rouhani, J. David Peske, Noel C. Derecki, David Castle, James W. Mandell, Kevin S. Lee, Tajie H. Harris and Jonathan Kipnis in Nature.