Damage to Left Side of Brain Raises Infection Risk

Damage to the left side of the brain from a stroke or other cause has been linked to an increased risk of infection and now researchers may have uncovered one reason why. As reported in the Annals of Neurology, damage to the dominant side of the brain, which is the left side in most people, seems to suppress the immune system. This effect could make a person more susceptible to infection.

Damage to the left side of the brain from a stroke or other cause has been linked to an increased risk of infection and now researchers may have uncovered one reason why. As reported in the Annals of Neurology, damage to the dominant side of the brain, which is the left side in most people, seems to suppress the immune system. This effect could make a person more susceptible to infection. The findings are based on a study of 22 patients who underwent brain surgery for epilepsy. Surgery on the dominant side resulted in a reduced number of various immune cells. Just the opposite occurred with damage to the nondominant side. Although similar findings have been shown in animal studies, the results in humans have been inconclusive, lead author Dr. Kimford J. Meador, from Georgetown University Hospital in Washington, DC, and colleagues note. “These findings raise the possibility that doctors need to be more aggressive in protecting patients from infection following strokes or surgery on the left side of the brain,” Meador said in a statement. “The immune and nervous systems are interlinked, influencing each other in complex ways that we are just beginning to understand,” Meador added. (Source: Reuters Health, Annals of Neurology, May, 2004)