Jonathan Kipnis, a professor in The University of Virginia’s (UVa) Department of Neuroscience and director of UVa’s Center for Brain Immunology and Glia, says his team’s discovery “changes entirely the way we perceive the neuro-immune interaction. We always perceived it before as something esoteric that can’t be studied. But now we can ask mechanistic questions.”

Not only is it surprising that the vessels connecting these two bodily systems have escaped detection for so long – when the lymphatic system has been so comprehensively studied – but the researchers say the discovery could have a huge impact on the study and treatment of neurological diseases such as autism, Alzheimer’s disease and multiple sclerosis.