Immunopathology of the nervous system

Abstract

The central and peripheral components of the nervous system exhibit extensive integration and interaction with the immune system in both health and disease. Components of the adaptive immune system touch all systems in the body through the blood and lymphatic vascular system, as was described in the chapter on immunobiology in Part I of this book. The nervous system is no exception to adaptive immune system interface. The immunobiology described in this chapter focuses on features of the innate and adaptive immune systems which are specific to the nervous system, and which are especially critical to health and diseases of the central nervous system. Selected immune conditions of the nervous system are explored in more detail to examine the complex interactions of the immune system with the nervous system and the consequences of imbalance between these systems on human health.