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    Brain's Link To Immune System Might Help Explain Alzheimer's

    For centuries, scientists thought the human brain had no direct connection to the body's immune system. Now researchers seem to have found one, and say it may offer clues to multiple sclerosis, too.
    by Jon Hamilton Oct 03, 2017 2 minutes
    Alzheimer's disease causes atrophy of brain tissue. The discovery that lymph vessels near the brain's surface help remove waste suggests glitches in the lymph system might be involved in Alzheimer's and a variety of other brain diseases.

    Fresh evidence that the body's immune system interacts directly with the brain could lead to a new understanding of diseases from multiple sclerosis to Alzheimer's.

    A study of human and monkey brains found lymphatic vessels — a key part of the body's immune system — in a membrane that surrounds the brain and nervous system, a team reported Tuesday in the online journal eLife.

    Lymphatic vessels are

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