Is it more active during sleep?
I think sleep studies tracking lymphatic activity will be coming soon. At least I would hope
Evidence of the body’s waste system in the human brain
51–60 of 97 posts
Re: Evidence of the body’s waste system in the human brain
#52Earlier quoted context omitted.
Kipnis made a mention of this in an interview closer to the actual discovery: As to how the brain’s lymphatic vessels managed to escape notice all this time, Kipnis described them as “very well hidden” and noted that they follow a major blood vessel down into the sinuses, an area difficult to image. “It’s so close to the blood vessel, you just miss it,” he said. “If you don’t know what you’re after, you just miss it.…
Then what of the Italian scientist who noted them 200 years ago? All of those dissections and attention to research in the modern age and it was actually taught in medical school that the brain had no lymphatic system? Seems a little far-fetched.
That reminded me of another example of this I remember seeing in the headlines; I'm not sure if this [1] is the one I'm recalling, but basically this is a similar situation for a different structure in the brain that was discovered in 1881 and then forgotten/ignored and omitted from medical texts for about a century.
[1] http://news.stanford.edu/news/2014/november/mystery-brain-im...
Re: Evidence of the body’s waste system in the human brain
#53Earlier quoted context omitted.
I wonder the same thing. Not to be snarky, but is there something faulty about medics or human biologists?! Why do I have a feeling that if we deployed computer scientists at medical research we would get a better result? I can accept that at the lower level things get fiendishly complex, but surely at a macro level like this it's just a case of diligent analysis?
> Why do I have a feeling that if we deployed computer scientists at medical research we would get a better result? Because comp sci has an arrogance problem that rivals that of doctors?
The only difference (from my perspective of course) is comp sci arrogance is directed towards our field and associated methodologies, principles, etc. Doctors direct their arrogance towards themselves.
Re: Evidence of the body’s waste system in the human brain
#54> the team discovered lymphatic vessels in the dura, the leathery outer coating of the brain Can someone explain why these vessels were never discovered during autopsies until now? Are they too thin, or transparent, or thought to have been something else, or the tubes become squished after death and therefore difficult to separate from other tissue, or what?
fta:
In 1816, an Italian anatomist reported finding lymphatic vessels on the surface of the brain, but for two centuries, it was forgotten. Until very recently, researchers in the modern era found no evidence of a lymphatic system in the brain, leaving some puzzled about how the brain drains waste, and others to conclude that brain is an exceptional organ. Then in 2015, two studies of mice found evidence of the brain’s lymphatic system in the dura. Coincidentally, that year, Dr. Reich saw a presentation by Jonathan Kipnis, Ph.D., a professor at the University of Virginia and an author of one the mouse studies.
Re: Evidence of the body’s waste system in the human brain
#55Earlier quoted context omitted.
> Why do I have a feeling that if we deployed computer scientists at medical research we would get a better result? Because comp sci has an arrogance problem that rivals that of doctors?
The only difference (from my perspective of course) is comp sci arrogance is directed towards our field and associated methodologies, principles, etc. Doctors direct their arrogance towards themselves.
This generalization is pretty large and may itself be an example of arrogance. But I think maybe it's just the brevity of your comment that gives this impression.
Re: Evidence of the body’s waste system in the human brain
#56Earlier quoted context omitted.
Kipnis made a mention of this in an interview closer to the actual discovery: As to how the brain’s lymphatic vessels managed to escape notice all this time, Kipnis described them as “very well hidden” and noted that they follow a major blood vessel down into the sinuses, an area difficult to image. “It’s so close to the blood vessel, you just miss it,” he said. “If you don’t know what you’re after, you just miss it.…
considering the article also says: Lymphatic vessels are part of the body’s circulatory system. In most of the body they run alongside blood vessels. it's somewhat surprising (in hindsight I admit) that no-one thought to look for them there before.
I would imagine there are quite a number of blood vessels in the brain ...
Re: Evidence of the body’s waste system in the human brain
#57Earlier quoted context omitted.
I wonder the same thing. Not to be snarky, but is there something faulty about medics or human biologists?! Why do I have a feeling that if we deployed computer scientists at medical research we would get a better result? I can accept that at the lower level things get fiendishly complex, but surely at a macro level like this it's just a case of diligent analysis?
Most professionals in the field of medicine were educated towards an elitist and dogmatic mindset. When I talk with a physician about the human body I always get the impression they really believe the body works as described in the books - exactly like that. Most of them didn't seem to have noticed or learned that what we know about medicine is just theory approximating reality and all of those theories had to be upd…
Medical doctors are not Ph.D.'s. They are technicians, more akin to an auto mechanic than a scientist.
Re: Evidence of the body’s waste system in the human brain
#58> the team discovered lymphatic vessels in the dura, the leathery outer coating of the brain Can someone explain why these vessels were never discovered during autopsies until now? Are they too thin, or transparent, or thought to have been something else, or the tubes become squished after death and therefore difficult to separate from other tissue, or what?
fta: In 1816, an Italian anatomist reported finding lymphatic vessels on the surface of the brain, but for two centuries, it was forgotten. Until very recently, researchers in the modern era found no evidence of a lymphatic system in the brain, leaving some puzzled about how the brain drains waste, and others to conclude that brain is an exceptional organ. Then in 2015, two studies of mice found evidence of the brain…
[deleted]
Re: Evidence of the body’s waste system in the human brain
#59Earlier quoted context omitted.
It is... exactly what you're saying. Except it's satire, and unfortunately you seem to be serious.
Read: I can accept that at the lower level things get fiendishly complex, but surely at a macro level like this it's just a case of diligent analysis? How are they missing features that are visible with the human eye? I find it incredible. Also, XKCD meme is the tiredest meme around.
You should post this on r/iamverysmart, they would "love" you.
Re: Evidence of the body’s waste system in the human brain
#60At first I was incredulous that they would make this claim, since it makes it appear they either failed to follow the literature enough to notice other researchers made the remarkable discovery of this system three years ago, or are trying history revisionism to claim that discovery as their own. But I guess the operative word here is "human". The original research actually gets a small mention in the text body. Anot…
I would be helpful to supply a link to the research from 3 years ago that you are mentioning.