When they aren’t talking about toxins, anti-vaccine folks like to talk about two things – the gut and the blood-brain barrier (BBB).
Sometimes they talk about all of them together.
What is the Blood-Brain Barrier?
The blood-brain barrier is exactly what you think it is – a barrier to keep substances in the blood from entering the cerebrospinal fluid that surrounds the brain and spinal cord.
Of course, the blood-brain barrier is not impermeable, as some substances, like glucose, ketone bodies, and amino acids have to get to the brain. Brain cells need fuel, just like every other part of the body. And waste products have to get from the brain, across the blood-brain barrier, and back into the blood, so that we can get rid of them.
So the blood-brain barrier doesn’t block everything though. Instead, it is a semi-permeable membrane that lets some things through, but keeps out foreign substances (neurotoxins), lipid insoluble molecules, large molecules (macromolecules), and molecules with a charge.
Why is all of this important?
With a functioning blood-brain barrier, many medications, hormones, and toxins, are kept from affecting our brains! Of course, the blood-brain barrier can make it hard when you do want something to affect your brain, like when you are treating meningitis, anxiety, depression, or migraines.
And there are times when the blood-brain barrier can break down, like after a stroke, certain infections, head trauma, or having high blood pressure, etc.
Vaccines and the Blood-Brain Barrier
So what do vaccines have to do with the blood-brain barrier?
If you understand how vaccines work, you have already likely expected that the answer is, not much.
Anti-vaccine folks think that vaccine ingredients, their so-called toxins, can cross the blood-brain barrier – our semi-permeable membrane that keeps most things out.
They also think that teething can induce a chemical cascade that can make a child’s blood-brain barrier extra leaky. It doesn’t.
And they think that an infant’s blood-brain barrier isn’t developed, an anti-vaccine talking point which helps reinforce their decision to skip or delay vaccinating their kids.
When Does the Blood-Brain Barrier Form?
It shouldn’t be surprising that none of the things that anti-vaccine folks say about the blood-brain barrier is true.
“In contrast with the rodent, in which the development of the BBB occurs primarily after birth, the human barrier and its tight junction protein complex develop mainly in utero. More recent evidence has confirmed that the proteins of the tight junction complex are present very early during human fetal brain development.”
Fetal and Neonatal Physiology (Fifth Edition)
So, of course, the blood-brain barrier forms before a baby is born.
“Given sufficient time and dosage most drugs can breach the placenta and enter the fetal circulation, posing a teratogenic risk to the fetal brain. Although the placenta and BBB have several efflux transporters in common, the BBB is a far more structurally complex and restrictive system.”
Goasdoué et al on Review: The blood-brain barrier; protecting the developing fetal brain
The placenta does a good job of most things from getting to your baby, but once inside, you don’t want everything in your baby’s blood to get to their brain, right?
That’s why the blood-brain barrier begins to form well before your baby is born.
“The BBB develops during fetal life and is well formed by birth, especially to proteins and macromolecules.”
Abbott et al on the Structure and function of the blood-brain barrier
And it is well formed by the time they are born.
None of the ingredients in vaccines, whether it is aluminum, polysorbate 80, or anything else, is going to cross the blood-brain barrier and act as a toxin.
“One can question why polysorbate-80 is in the vaccines if it serves to potentially transport vaccine materials across the blood-brain-barrier. After all, what vaccine materials need to enter the brain? The obvious answer is, none. I’ve heard people ask if the polysorbate-80 is in the vaccines intentionally, used as part of a medical experiment on the human race, like we heard about during World War II.”
Lawrence Palevsky, MD in the Holistic Child Health Newsletter August 2013
It should be clear that these ideas about the blood-brain barrier are just more myths to scare you away from vaccinating and protecting your kids.
Polysorbate 80, for example, is an emulsifier that helps ingredients mix together. It is also used in ice cream and other foods. Maybe someone can ask Dr. Palevsky if he thinks that’s why we sometimes get a ‘brain freeze’ when we eat ice cream – the polysorbate 80 is allowing the ice cream to cross our blood-brain barrier and literally freeze our brain as some kind of medical experiment on the human race.
What to Know About Vaccines and the Blood Brain Barrier
The blood-brain barrier is a semi-permeable membrane that develops before your baby is born. Review how that should affect your decision to vaccinate your kids.
More on Vaccines and the Blood Brain Barrier
- Review – Structure and function of the blood-brain barrier
- Book – Fetal and Neonatal Physiology (Fifth Edition)
- Book – Avery’s Diseases of the Newborn (Tenth Edition)
- Review: The blood-brain barrier; protecting the developing fetal brain
- Aluminum adjuvants in vaccines and the blood-brain barrier. Removing the facts from the fiction, the good science from the junk science
- Polysorbate 80 and the BBB or how to put anti-vaxxers into a blowing cognitive dissonance
- Thimerosal and the blood-brain barrier: where does the science stand?
- Does the latest paper from Exley show a link between ASD and aluminum?
- Histamine-induced blood-brain barrier disruption in teething children: a “post hoc ergo” on glucocorticoids.
- Autopsy of a flawed study of aluminum and brain inflammation
- Christopher Exley: Using bad science to demonize aluminum adjuvants in vaccines
- Even when it’s not all about vaccines, it’s all about vaccines
- The Toxin Gambit Part 2: Polysorbate 80 and a Maths Fail
- Demystifying Vaccine Ingredients – Aluminum
- Setting the record straight: Debunking ALL the flu vaccine myths
- Aluminum in Vaccines: A Re[Al]ity Check
I think doctors parrot what they are taught in medical school, and are too busy with there practice to research studies that have not been funded by pharmaceutical/ vaccine manufacturers. Or, Maybe some doctors are unethical and don’t care, and turn a blind eye. Or alternatively, they are vaccine zealots and are in denial and refuse to use their common sense, and critical thinking.
So, do you think it’s okay to administered Aluminum, mercury,phosphate, falmydhde, and MRC-5 By injection, which is an unnatural entry, not I harmony with how nature intended us to develop immunity. Is it okay to put these toxins in our babies? Seems ignorant and criminal to force vaccination on our babies. I’m pretty sure Europe doesn’t force vaccines, and certainly doesn’t charge exuberant prices for medication. I know the European citizens have healthcare. It’s not “Big Business” like here in the US.
I actually worked for a man who is the biggest douche bag I’ve ever met. I asked him how he made all his money and he said he invented the flu vaccine. I asked if it was safe, and he said it wasn’t his concern. He owed a 9 million dollar yatch, which I was a stewardess and I wanted to donate the can goods to the homeless, he told me No, I don’t give a crap about homeless people. This is the type of person who is pushing the vaccines. “Have you had your flu shot”
Watch Dr John Bergman on vaccines. I doubt you would continue approving putting poison in children!!! Vaccines are poison. Children become autistic and develop auto immune disorders. All the government cares about is getting your MONEY. say NO to vaccines. God bless
I agree, vaccines are total bullsh#t and money making scheme and way to destroy our children..and adults…its pure evil…
I’m curious as to where you got this information. Considering it’s all is a bunch of crap lies to feed to the public. Its public knowledge that you can find anywhere you look that the blood brain barrier is not fully developed when born. This whole post just infuriates me and makes me wonder how people like you could possibly be so dumb.
Lol he must think we are as dumb as the pro vax folk who use vaxopedia nonsense to back up their misinformed beliefs. Shame on you, lying to the people of the world vaxopedia. To the parents searching for the truth vaxopedia isn’t the place to find it.
One, this article is pretty bias. Two, because the blood-brain barrier forms in the womb, would it be safe to say that vaccines given during pregnancy can cross the barrier?
First of all, how retarded do you have to be to believe that an ingredient in ice cream is the same as an ingredient in the vaccine? With one you are injecting it directly into your bloodstream, and the other you are ingesting it into your digestive system. Give me a break. Like seriously?
Second of all, it’s a proven fact that some of the ingredients in these vaccines are put there because they need to cross the blood-brain barrier, the heavy metals for example like aluminum and Mercury along with Mercury derivatives.
In what world do these Pro vaxxers live in where they think it’s okay to inject heavy metals directly into the bloodstream and it somehow safe? Smfh
So he says we get brain freeze because of a jump in the barrier but by some magic mercury and aluminum cant jump in non infants?????? BS
This MD is a bafoon. What type of trust worthy medical professional would write such crap? He chooses to answer very valid concerns with sarcasm and opinion as opposed to fact. Dear parents there is a plethora of information available to us in scholarly articles, clinical trials, etc. we just have to read the pros and cons and make an informed decision. Don’t be bullied. We’ve been taught to blindly trust Medical professionals, but that is dangerous. I trust 3 doctors but I know they are also just people. If you have a doctor that speaks like this fool it’s tond to look elsewhere. Be your own advocate
no kidding
Watch Dr John Bergman on vaccines. I doubt you would continue approving putting poison in children!!! Vaccines are poison. Children become autistic and develop auto immune disorders. All the government cares about is getting your MONEY. say NO to vaccines. God bless
Intellectually illogical thinking is the driving force of human stupidity that harms humanity. In their need to be socially accepted,( the 3 types of authoritarianism )these intellectual fools go along with “the current thinking, and have such obedient admiration for their higher ranking scientific authorities, that they actually believe there is no such thing as elites wanting to create a populous of weaker thinking opposition. Understanding human nature is the means to this certaity, and there is no proof that this is not being carried out. Therefore it is the absolute justifiable right for thinking people to assume to be, what they cannot see. And it is illogical to say ” anti-vaxer’s are putting others at risk. Diseases intentionally brought across our borders, is their sneaky little excuse to illogically justiably blame anti vaxer’s.
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If polysorbate 80 helps drugs cross the bbb in people with fully formed bbb’s then how is it that polysorbate 80 combined with vaccine ingredients doesn’t cross the bbb in children? Saying the bbb is already formed in babies before birth doesn’t address any of our concerns!!