Antoine Louveau, Ph.D., a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Center of Brain Immunology and Glia, in the Neuroscience department of the University of Virginia, VA, under the supervision of Dr. Jonathan Kipnis, is a LE&RN Research Fellowship Award recipient. We asked Dr. Louveau to tell us about his research.
What is the focus of your research?
My research focuses on the role of the Central Nervous System (CNS) lymphatic system in brain function in both physiological and pathological conditions. Until recently, the brain was thought to be among the few organs of the body to be devoid of a dedicated and functional lymphatic system and this was proposed to be a central reason for the immune privilege status of the brain. This discovery changes the game and we are now focusing on understanding how this lymphatic system works in the CNS and how it might be dysfunctional in neurological disorders, notably during Multiple Sclerosis and Alzheimer’s Disease.
What do you hope to learn from this research and what impacts will it have on the current body of knowledge?
I hope that this research will help us gain a better understanding of brain physiology. The question on how the brain drains and how antigens are exiting the CNS remains unclear. Similarly, we know that the brain is under constant immune surveillance that is important for the maintenance of brain function but the path for immune cells trafficking is still a matter of debate. In the periphery, the lymphatic system plays a major role on both of those functions, we then hope to understand how those systems are working in the CNS.
Ultimately, we hope to understand how dysfunction of the meningeal lymphatic system might initiate or participate in the development of neurological disorders such as Multiple Sclerosis and Alzheimer’s Disease (AD). AD is characterized by the accumulation of misfolded protein in the brain parenchyma that causes memory loss. Understanding how the CNS lymphatic system participates in the removal of molecular waste from the brain might help us understand why and how proteins are accumulating in the brain.
What clinical implications might grow out of this research?
We still have a long way to go but we are hoping that the meningeal lymphatic vasculature might be a new therapeutic target that will be more accessible than the brain parenchyma to offer new treatments for neurological disorders.
What might the field accomplish in the next few years?
I think that the lymphatic field has initiated its shift from working with the system as a whole and has started considering specific function that tissue lymphatics have to ensure the maintenance of those tissues. I believe that such approach is going to enrich our understanding of the lymphatic vasculature, reveal important tissue specific function that the lymphatic system ensures and provide new targeted therapies to treat disorders of the lymphatic system like lymphedema but also emphasize the implication of the lymphatic system in numerous other disorders.
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Vor ein paar Jahre bin ich an Krebs erkrankt, bedingt durch meine Wertheim OP, Bestrahlung und Afterloading habe ich Lymphödeme bekommen, für mich sehr überraschend da ein paar Jahre dazwischen lagen, ich wusste das etwas nicht stimmt aber leider konnten unzählige Ärzte nicht helfen. Hier ist es auch so, wie in viele viele andere Länder auch, dass Lymphatische Erkrankungen erstens nicht wirklich ernst genommen werden und zweitens das kaum ein Arzt darüber Bescheid weiß, wie den auch, wenn in den Lehrbüchern so gut wie NICHTS steht.
Mein Bestreben ist alles zu tun was in meiner Macht steht um dafür zu sorgen das jeder der betroffen ist weiß was er/ sie tun kann um sein Leben wieder so gestalten zu können wie er/sie das möchte. . Ich suche und suche immer weiter nach alternativ Möglichkeiten um meinen Leben so normal wie möglich zu gestalten. Die Empfehlungen die ich gebe sind bei mir durchaus wirksam und ich erziele gute Erfolge und behalte meine Lebensqualität. Mein Blog ist kein Ersatz für eine Ärztliche Betreuung und ich empfehle jeden mit seinem Arzt über Therapie Möglichkeiten etc. zu sprechen. Ich kann nur anregen und durch meine eigene, persönliche Erfahrung eventuell einen weg aufzeigen.
Seit 2009 beschäftige ich mich weit über das übliche hinaus mit Lymphödeme. Nicht nur die „Diagnose“ interessiert mich, sondern ebenso was für einen Effekt es hat auf unser Sozialleben und unser Selbstwertgefühl. Ich habe viel Zeit und Geld investiert in andere Länder zu reisen um alternativen kennenzulernen, ich war bei Internationale Firmen als Gast um zu sehen welche Lösungen geboten werden, habe fast jeden Lymphologischen Kongress besucht um mich weiter zu bilden und einige Projekte als Freelancer machen können. Wie ihr sieht ist das weitaus mehr als nur ein Blog, es müssen sich grundliegende Dinge verändern um uns alle das zu geben was wir verdienen, Respekt, Empathie und das Bewusstsein das wir nichts Vorübergehendes haben, sondern das dieses ein Teil unseres Lebens ist und auch bleibt.
After being diagnosed with Cancer and going through treatments, Wertheim operation, radiation therapy and afterloading I was suddenly hit by Lymphedema. Totally surprising since nobody even gave me a hint that this could happen. Running from one doctor to the other trying to find out what is wrong with me and why my body was changing so quickly, once again being in the situation of not having control of anything. This made me so angry that I started studying like crazy, I wanted to find out why we are left alone, why doctors don’t have a clue (sorry, most doctors) about Lymphedema and the consequences in all aspects of our lives.
Sadly, I had to realize that hardly anyone knows anything about it. I started my quest to find alternatives in treatments, I traveled around the world investing my time and money, fortunate enough to spend time in companies specialized in Lymphedema treatment to learn all that I could and can. I hardly miss any Lymphatic congress, listening to the internationally known doctors, discussing what is important for us as patients. I have done some freelance work for the companies that I believe in and had the chance to work with a wonderful company in New Jersey. I have tested alternatives and I am still searching and studying because it is my quest to change things for all affected by this, not only our physical wellbeing but most importantly the impact that it has on our daily life. It’s not something that’s going to go away, it’s with us until the end and the minimum that we can expect is being taken seriously, respect and empathy for our situation and the importance for all of us that have the possibilities to change things for the better. There is so much work to do, and I am not going to give up. As you can see this is more than a blog.
If you find something interesting on Lymphfantastic but you are having problems with the German, then just send me a message and I will be happy to translate that for you, my native language is English so that is no problem. Have a great day and looking forward to hearing from you soon.
Bless you all, Monica
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