A stroke not only causes acute damage to the brain, but can also have long-term health implications for other organs – such as the heart. “However, there has been little research to date on the effects of brain injuries on systemic immunity,” says Professor Arthur Liesz from the Institute for Stroke and Dementia Research (ISD) at LMU University Hospital and principal investigatior in the cluster of excellence SyNergy. Liesz is the principal investigator of a new study that was recently published in the journal Cell. The researchers worked on the hypothesis that the high rate of comorbidities that develop after a stroke could have a common immunological cause. And they actually managed to find it: The origin of the dysfunctions in other parts of the body lies in the immunological memory of the blood-forming cells in bone marrow.
