White Matter Under Fire

CHART CLUE

Stina’s brain MRI shows white matterThe outer portion of the spinal cord made of myelinated nerve fibers that transmit signals. hyperintensities — more than her age should warrant — alongside years of “brain fog,” headaches, and the same sustained high IL-1β and IL-6 that drive the rest of her disease. Read together, the spots are not incidental aging. They are systemic inflammation reaching across a leaky blood-brain barrierA selective barrier that prevents harmful substances from entering the brain. and lighting up the brain’s wiring.