Blood Brain Barrier

[bromley]

Dear all,

Many articles I read make reference to the Blood Brain Barrier. Could somewhere explain (in simple speak) what this is and where it is? I assumed there was blood in the brain.

Another question - does anyone know what changes ms from relapsing remitting to secondary progressive? How does one know when the change has taken place? Does secondary progressive equate to primary progressive (but the sufferers of the latter by-pass the RR stage)?

Bromley

Sorry for all the questions, but I'm having lots of sleepless nights at the moment.

[mscaregiver]

Bromley, the link below gives a definition and even has some pictures of the BBB.

The tight seal of cells that lines the blood vessels in the brain is known as the blood-brain barrier.

http://www.sfn.org/content/Publications ... brain.html

[VickiG]

Bromley,

And this is straightforward if somewhat subjective evaluation:
You have moved from RR to SP when:

> You stop having clear relapses followed by complete or near remission.

> And your symptoms are more consistent, like a plateau, without clear remissions.

> Your symptoms may gradually get worse over time without clear remissions.

> You would still have "good" and "not so good" days.

I have Secondary Progressive ms. My ms was diagnosed at this stage. I don't know what a "relapse" or a "remission" feels like. I have worked very hard to keep my symptoms from getting worse. And for the most part, they haven't. And in some ways, due to physical therapy, etc., my balance, agility, flexibility are better. Changing medications and managing stress have improved my cognitive problems. I've become a poster child for self-empowerment!

Secondary progressive has nothing to due with primary progressive. Most rr eventually becomes less inflamatory and settles into sp. More consistent, plateau like symptoms that stabilize somewhat.

No more sleepless nights!! They'll only make you feel like crap!

V.

.

[sunnydelilah]

Maybe try high dose statins?

[MacGyver]

Good question, which I believe is over looked by many. I think it is a must to have much knowledge of the BBB when doing private "MS research" like many of us are doing here. Independent of what paradigm of MS research you are into, you can always find something interesting about the endothelium/BBB ;)

There are tons of information out there about the BBB and the properties of our dear blood vessels. A good place to start is by clicking this link to neuroscience for kids (!). Frome there you can dig much much deeper. Some additional key words when searching for more information in Pubmed etc are the "endothelium" or "endothelial cells".

/MacGyver

[Gonzo]

The BBB prevents many substances from entering the brain, but mercury and other heavy metals can cross, after which the immune system cannot expunge them. Certain chelation treatments can also cross the BBB.

Not really MS related but mercury poisoning symptoms have a lot in common with MS symptoms. Makes you think!

>> Mercury from Amalgam Fillings



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