WHAT IS THE BLOOD-BRAIN BARRIER?
How cell-lined blood vessels in the brain control what enters this organ
WORDS AILSA HARVEY
The blood-brain barrier is a semipermeable membrane that works as a security guard for your brain, controlling what can enter and keeping it healthy and functioning efficiently. It stops most toxins and pathogens that can enter the bloodstream from entering the brain. This barrier has a highly important role because damage to brain tissue can be more detrimental to a person’s health than damage to other organs in the body, with long-term impacts. The brain controls how you move, speak, think, behave and remember, so this barrier helps keep you, you. This security system is called a barrier, but it acts as a filter, controlling what passes through. Vital nutrients like oxygen and glucose are delivered to the brain through the barrier. The skull serves as physical protection for significant impacts, the meninges is a membrane that helps prevent trauma injury to the brain and central nervous system and the blood-brain barrier takes care of biochemical defence.