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Immune system protects the brain

Contrary to what was previously thought, the human brain appears to be protected by the immune system. Researchers at the Dutch Institute for Neuroscience in Amsterdam have finally disposed of this long-standing misconception that “the immune system” could not reach the brain.

Immune cells, so-called T-cells, found in brain tissue stop viruses that can play a major role in the development of various brain diseases, such as Multiple sclerosis (MS) and Parkinson's Disease. These are cells, which also look rather different compared to other T-cells in the body. The group of researchers reported this in the scientific journal, Nature Communications. 

No separate status

For a long time, it was mistakenly thought that the head and brain formed a kind of “separate status” in the body, a free zone where the defences had no influence whatsoever. “That way of thinking was really too silly for words” admits Dr. Inge Huitinga, Scientific Group Leader at the Institute of Neuroscience and Director of the Brain Bank at Amsterdam UMC. “As if the head formed a separate compartment. Until a few years ago, people really did think that way. But T-cells appear to live normally in the brain.”

According to Immunologist, Dr. Jörg Hamann of the Amsterdam UMC with the presence of the blood-brain barrier, the protective border between the blood and the brain, through which virtually "none" of the threats seemed to be able to penetrate. “Although the influence of the immune system was increasingly considered in recent years, simply too little was known about what was going on there.” For the time being, Dutch brain discovery has only yielded more knowledge. It may take many years before this research can ultimately be converted into brain medicine.

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