They Will Have To Re-Write The Textbooks For This One {brain & immune system connection}

April 16, 2016 by Alexa Erickson.

www.collective-evolution.com...
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Just a couple of weeks ago, researchers at the University of Virginia’s School of Medicine made a discovery which will forever alter the way we look at the brain, concluding that there is a direct connection between the brain and the immune system. This connection is by way of vessels that were previously assumed nonexistent.
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Jonathan Kipnis, a professor in the Department of Neuroscience and the Director of the University’s Center for Brain Immunology and Glia, expressed his surprise at the discovery: “I really did not believe there were structures in the body that we were not aware of. I thought the body was mapped.”
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According to Kipnis, questions like “How do we study the immune response of the brain?” or “Why do multiple sclerosis patients have immune system attacks?” no longer need to be answered thanks to this new discovery. “Now we can approach this mechanistically — because the brain is like every other tissue connected to the peripheral immune system through meningeal lymphatic vessels,” explained Kipnis. “We believe that for every neurological disease that has an immune component to it, these vessels may play a major role.”
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Behind the discovery was the work of Antoine Louveau, a postdoctoral fellow in Kipnis’ lab. He detected the vessels after developing a method that involved mounting a mouse’s meninges, which are the membranes covering the brain, onto a single slide in order to examine them in their entirety.

Loveau then detected vessel-like patterns in the distribution of immune cells on his slides, which caused him to test for lymphatic vessels, which he found. It seemed the impossible came to be.

Sounds like an exciting discovery, to me.

Many belief systems and disciplines have long hypothesized--even asserted that such a connection existed. Many considered the connection other dimensional--as in spiritual.

And, the verse in The Bible about A MERRY HEART DOES GOOD, LIKE A MEDICINE [Prov 17:22] has often been cited as an example of the connection between our conscious brain life and health.

I wonder how soon the implications re Alzheimer's and multiple sclerosis might be realized.

A rising theme in some circles has been to write down 5 things daily that one is thankful for. Evidently many benefits arise from that habit. A healthier immune system may well be one of them.

I don't know if this can directly connect to such things as a gratitude practice at this point (not that it doesn't connect, mind you, just that the research is on physical structures not emotions and thoughts.)

I am especially interested in seeing if this leads to help for people with autism, where an immune system component is also present.

Thanks for posting!

a reply to: BO XIAN

Interestingly enough, an old indian fella told me this years ago at a Goenka Vipassana meditation center.

Also an inlay of one of Pearl Jam's album booklets (Vitalogy, the quote is taken from an old medical encyclopedia of the same name I believe) says similar:

The wise man of old said: "As a man thinketh in his heart so is he."
If you permit no thought of disease and death to enter your mind you will have accomplished nine-tenths of the battle to stave off these foes

edit: You can read the rest of it if you google the exact quote, it will take you to a google book scan of the page it's from. It's fairly interesting lol, things like "Tight clothing must of course be absolutely discarded" and a suggestion to develop a habit of deep breathing.

a reply to: BO XIAN

Your link is not working, is it possible this was taken down already? Here's a link to archive.org with the story:


web.archive.org...://www.collective-evolution.com/2016/04/16/they-will-have-to-re-write-the-textbooks-for-this-one/

Just copy and paste the link above, it should work.

a reply to: AboveBoard

I'm not saying the connection between thankfulness/gratitude and the immune system has been scientifically proven.

I'm merely suggesting that it's a logical conclusion--logically related to this finding as well as to constructions on such realities from other disciplines.

Thanks for your kind reply.

a reply to: InFriNiTee

Thanks. Not sure why. That was the same page/link I copied originally.

Will check it out.

Curious. The original link worked for me just now.

a reply to: BO XIAN

Original link is working again, I got a message from it after a while saying it had cloud issues.

a reply to: BelowLowAnnouncement

INDEED. Well put.

That's long been one of my favorite parts of that book.

Thanks.

a reply to: BO XIAN

Wouldn't the "Placebo Affect" fall into this topic as well? Mind over? If you don't mind it, it won't matter...

Think about it tho...a person sporting a lab coat gives you a bottle of pills. And tells you (even tho they are sugar and contain no chemistry beyond the simple sucrose) that these will "heal" your (fill in blank). And with some it does work. I hope this research is really on to something here.

a reply to: Glinda

I think you make a good point about the placebo affect. It seems like it would fit in, to me. But I'm not currently that well read on the details of this latest research etc.

Certainly the placebo affect must operate through SOME physiological mechanism at some point!

I can remember reading about it more than a year ago.
I think it is quite exciting and that the stupid border between organic and somatic diseases can be removed.
Here is a link from Scientificific America

It's funny that someone actually admitted that the researchers had previously missed something so important. It is really impressive how this system works. I read the whole article somewhere and wondered how this will someday be capitalized on to make us buy medicines.

Being that they did not know about this means that they did not even consider some complications that their treatments could cause. Since nobody said it existed, then any problems associated with medicines or food chemistry causing harm because of this will not be considered a liability for the manufacturers. That is the way the system works. Now if they do not specifically test as to what can cause complications, then the chemical companies still will not be liable, the FDA sets the tests required. They don't act very fast on things that can increase their workload.

a reply to: Hellhound604

THANKS. That looks like a great article.

Good source.

Reminds me of a TED talk video I watched a while back. The idea of thinking positive releasing hormones that repair the heart tissue.

Nice find

Interesting. But I heard some years ago that there already is a direct link from the brain to the rest of the world that sort of goes unnoticed. Maybe this is something different, but it certainly is associated with the immune system. Sorry, I don't know the medical jarb, so cut me some slack:

You know those nose hairs? If you keep going up, but way way up, there is something sort of like it but way different that hangs down from the top (I have a feeling I'm going to regret this, because I already am!) and that is actually a part of the brain that is the only part that connects to the outside. It takes elements of what is out there and goes, quite literally, directly to the brain for immediate processing. "The nose knows."

I was told this in response to being diagnosed with multiple chemical sensitivities (borderline MS, ALS and Parkinson's) and this was the explanation as to why I can begin to salivate and get dizzy when exposed to some nasty chemical that no one else can smell. They refer to people like us as the canaries in the coal mines...so I guess if I drop dead in front of you, don't try to resuscitate...run!

Anyway, nice post. Thanks. Now to get those funny brain hairy thingies to reprogram their reactions into happy thoughts.

a reply to: BO XIAN

I just put this connection to myself as follows after reading this thread.

For most of my life when I get up I take a hot shower or bath. I always felt it helped me wake up and loosen my muscles up and get my blood flowing all while getting my first glass of water in for the day. All these things should and probably did help my body...however.

I am noticing now that I always use to sit and have clear thoughts or just relax. Sometimes I find myself thinking about my day but always ever so mildly not frantic or rushed. My conclusion comparing how I feel before and after that this is a source of meditation and is helping my body as much as the water and getting blood flowing. I now know also how I always feel bad in the morning and use to and still do but now almost sub conscious tell my body to fix itself feel better and imagine the blood flowing through my body taking nutrients to cells and removing bad things as it is suppose to. This was a daily thing and helped me feel better. I only remember now as to I feel I still do this but it became sub conscious some years back. I felt this is worth adding and as no proof this has brought me to find out much more about the subject regardless. Thank you for a small awakening.

a reply to: BO XIAN

Old news, announced last year.

Good to see you awake again, Bo. You'll have a lot of catching up to do.

So does the mind control the immune system, or does the immune system control the mind?

a reply to: Astyanax

Evidently.

Don't think I'll get caught up. LOL.

Will do what I can and go on.

Thanks for your kind words and post.

Re of when it was first announced, I thought it was worth discussing.

a reply to: BO XIAN

Chinese medicine (traditional) is very good about it. They do not speak of Immune system thou, however if you look deeply in the philosophy, you'll see how far behind and childish is the west looking in comparison. So its not only dating back in various religions...