In my research, I’ve come across the words “immune system” many times, so here’s what you need to know about it. Complicated words are explained. Ready? Let’s get going.
To work at its most effective way, the immune system needs to be able to point out a difference between healthy from unhealthy cells and tissues. It does so by identifying signals called DAMPS—danger-associated molecular patterns.
Cell damage known as antigens causes an immune response which may be present for many reasons, including bacteria, fungus, viruses, toxins such as a bite or a sting, burns, or a foreign substance like a misguided staple in your leg.Â
The immune system is a complex system that is essential for staying alive. When the body faces harmful pathogens, such as a virus or a splinter in the finger, it launches an attack to destroy the pathogens. People are born with some types of immunity, but exposure to vaccinations can also help strengthen the body’s defenses.
Brain injury, TBI, stroke, or other ABI, for example, triggers a complex immune response that affects acute damage, recovery, infection risk, and long-term outcomes. Balancing necessary inflammation for repair with harmful chronic inflammation or immune suppression is the most important thing to clinical challenge.
The brain was once considered “immunologically privilege,” meaning it was largely isolated from the immune system. We now know this isn’t fully correct. After a brain injury, a complex and two-way interaction unfolds.
When the brain is injured, from trauma, stroke, or other causes, it triggers a powerful local immune response. Microglia, the brain’s resident immune cells, activate rapidly. They can be protective at first, clearing rubbish and dead cells. At the same time, the blood-brain barrier (BBB) is often disrupted, allowing on-the-edge immune cells to flood in from the bloodstream. This inflammatory response can worsen the initial damage, a situation called secondary injury.
One of the most extreme effects is that a serious brain injury often puts an end to the body’s systemic immune system. The brain signals through the autonomic nervous system and hormonal pathways to make less effective immune activity throughout the body. The outcome is that brain-injured patients are highly vulnerable to infections. Pneumonia and urinary tract infections are among the leading causes of death after TBI and stroke.
Overall, the immune system strengthens upon exposure to different pathogens. By adulthood, most people have been exposed to a range of pathogens and developed more immunity. Once the body produces an antibody, it keeps a “copy” so that if the same antigen reappears, the body can deal with it more efficiently.
A huge portion of your immune system lives in your gut. A brain injury can disrupt the blood brain barrier and the “gut barrier” at once. This process can lead to digestive issues like bloating, which further wallops mood and immunity or food sensitivities that weren’t there before.
Because the immune system is involved, recovery often feels like a full-body involvement. You might extreme certain chemicals or smells, fatigue, a deep exhaustion, not just sleepiness that comes on slowly, or increased reaction to lights and sounds, or joint pain or skin rashes that seem to flare up with extreme pressure in your brain or the whole head.Â
These circumstances happen because your brain is working especially hard to rewire itself, and your immune system needs an extra shield itself. For example, the glymphatic system, the process where cerebrospinal fluid moves through channels, will clean the brain of toxic waste. Another example is called “pacing” when overexertion triggers a stress response (cortisol), which further impairs the immune system.
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And there it is.
