 The blood-brain barrier shields the central nervous system, which

comprises the brain and spinal cord, from the immune system.
 In a new study, researchers have hypothesized that if this barrier is
compromised, it could cause inflammation in the brain, which may,
in turn, trigger schizophrenia.
 To investigate this relationship, they used cells isolated from
healthy individuals and from people with a rare genetic disorder
that increases the risk of schizophrenia.
 The blood-brain barriers derived from cells of the latter group were
more ‘leaky’ and produced more inflammatory molecules.