Nicoletta Lanese is a staff writer for Live Science covering health and medicine, along with an assortment of biology, animal, environment and climate stories. She holds degrees in neuroscience and dance from the University of Florida and a graduate certificate in science communication from the University of California, Santa Cruz. Her work has appeared in The Scientist Magazine, Science News, The San Jose Mercury News and Mongabay, among other outlets.
A newfound"protective shield" in the brain helps clear waste from the organ and serves as a sentry tower for watchful immune cells that monitor for signs of infection, scientists reported in a study of mouse and human brains.
The CSF surrounding the brain acts as a shock absorber, similar to the cushioning inside a bike helmet. However, this fluid doesn't hang out only in the subarachnoid space. Instead, it flows through various tubes and compartments in and around the brain, delivering nutrients to the organ while flushing its waste products out into the bloodstream. The newly discovered"shield" likely helps control these important functions of CSF, the study authors concluded.
The newfound membrane may help separate fresh CSF from contaminated CSF containing waste and potentially harmful proteins, such as the amyloid plaques associated with Alzheimer's disease, and help direct these substances out of the brain, the authors theorized. Understanding how this works in a healthy brain and what happens if the shield incurs damage"will require more detailed studies," they noted.
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