Spleen May Help Heart Recover From Disease THURSDAY July 30,
2009 -- Though its reputation doesn't rank down there with the
appendix, the spleen isn't exactly known as a vital organ. In
fact, plenty of people do fine without it. But new research
suggests the spleen plays a bigger role in the immune system
than previously thought. In mice, scientists found, the spleen
serves as a home for a type of white blood cell that scavenges
dead tissue and helps produce inflammation, which contributes to
healing. In particular, the researchers discovered that the
spleen helps the heart recover from disease. "While the spleen
may not be essential for your survival, it plays a crucial role
once you are sick," said study author Filip K. Swirski, an
immunology instructor at Harvard Medical School. The findings
could lead to a better understanding of the immune system,
including its response to cancer, Swirski said. And it
definitely improves the profile of a little-understood organ.
It's much more obscure than, say, the live