The secrets of the human brain are difficult to uncover, but new technology is helping us learn things we never knew before. Scientists can now use special tools to examine our brains in great detail and find out all sorts of cool stuff they never knew!
A brand new finding, shared in the journal Science, made scientists uncover a mysterious area inside our brains. This recently discovered part of our brain works as a shield to protect us from any type of harm and also lets which is cells alert us if there is something wrong with our brain such as an unhealthy infection or inflammation.
Two scientists, Maiken Nedergaard from the University of Rochester and Kjeld Møllgård from the University of Copenhagen, have just finished a new study!
Nedergaard and her team of scientists have found out interesting new things about brain anatomy. They discovered special cells in the brain called glia and a system of waste removal (named the glymphatic system) that helps us stay healthy.
Scientists recently made an amazing discovery – they found a new part of the brain that helps control how fluid passes around the brain. This special fluid does more than just transport and throw away waste inside your brain – it helps protect it from diseases too!
The study is looking at the membranes that protect our brains. They provide a barrier between the brain and the rest of your body, and allow it to be in contact with something called CSF (cerebrospinal fluid). The parts that make up this protective barrier are called “meningeal layers”. These layers are made up of 3 smaller pieces, which are known as: the dura, the arachnoid and the pia matter.
Researchers from the US and Denmark have discovered a new layer in the space between our skull and our brain. They’ve named this layer “SLYM” which stands for Subarachnoidal LYmphatic-like Membrane. Scientists tested SLYM’s function with mice and found that it is also present in the adult human brain!
The SLYM is a special type of protective and immune-cell-filled membrane inside the body. This kind of membrane, called mesothelium, lines other organs too like the lungs and heart. A scientist named Møllgård was really curious if such a thing existed in our central nervous system too. He studies brain protection systems so this makes perfect sense to him!
The membrane is really thin and fragile, it only has one or two cells’ thickness. However, the SLYM is a strong barrier that stops big molecules from passing through; it acts like there’s a line between “clean” and “dirty” CSF (cerebrospinal fluid).
SLYM might be the key to keeping the “glymphatic system” moving, which lets new and clean cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) come into your body while getting rid of proteins related to diseases like Alzheimer’s from your central nervous system.
Scientists just made a brand new discovery that will help them understand better the way the “glymphatic system” works. The “glymphatic system” is so important that the National Institutes of Health gave more than $13 million to one group of researchers, who are part of a place called the University of Rochester, so they can work on it.
The SLYM also seems to be important for the brain’s protection. The central nervous system contains its own set of defense cells, and the stop of the SLYM stops outside cells from entering. In addition, there are special immune cells at the surface of the brain that use the SLYM as a way of looking out for signs of infection in stuff around it like spinal fluid.
The SLYM has recently been discovered and this could be a chance to find out more about how it relates to brain illnesses. Researchers noticed that during inflammation and growing older, there are lots of different types of immune cells (defenders from illness) which join forces on the membrane—a thin covering that protects your brain tissue. If this protective covering is damaged in an accident or injury involving the brain, it may prevent the glymphatic system (which usually moves fluids among cells) from working correctly so non-central nervous system immunized cells can get into your brain.
It looks like diseases like multiple sclerosis, brain infections and Alzheimer’s might be caused or made worse by problems with SLYM. It could also mean that drugs and treatments to the brain are influenced by SLYM, which needs to be thought of when making new medicines.
According to a research of nine scientists, they discovered that the subarachnoid space can be divided into compartments functions by the mesothelium. This research was published on 5 January 2023 in Science journal and it has a special ID number as well (DOI: 10.1126/science.adc8810).
This research was funded by 8 different foundations and organizations, including the Lundbeck Foundation, Novo Nordisk Foundation, the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, the U.S. Army Research Office, the Human Frontier Science Program, the Dr. Miriam and Sheldon G. Adelson Medical Research Foundation, and the Simons Foundation.
