There are key differences between the central nervous system (CNS) (brain and spinal cord) and peripheral nervous system (PNS), such as glial cell types, whether there is protection by the blood-brain barrier, modes of synaptic connections, etc. However, there are many more similarities between these two arms of the nervous system, including neuronal structure and function, neuroimmune and neurovascular interactions, and, perhaps most essentially, the balance between neural plasticity (including processes like neuron survival, neurite outgrowth, synapse formation, gliogenesis) and neurodegeneration (neuronal death, peripheral neuropathies like axonopathy and demyelination). This article brings together current research evidence on shared mechanisms of nervous system health and disease between the CNS and PNS, particularly with metabolic diseases like obesity and diabetes. This evidence supports the claim that the two arms of the nervous system are critically linked and that previously understudied conditions of central neurodegeneration or peripheral neurodegeneration may actually be manifesting across the entire nervous system at the same time, through shared genetic and cellular mechanisms. This topic has been critically underexplored due to the research silos between studies of the brain and studies of peripheral nerves and an overemphasis on the brain in neuroscience as a field of study. There are likely shared and linked mechanisms for how neurons stay healthy versus undergo damage and disease among this one nervous system in the body—providing new opportunities for understanding neurological disease etiology and future development of neuroprotective therapeutics.

中文翻译：

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一个神经系统：中枢神经系统和周围神经系统健康之间的关键联系以及对肥胖和糖尿病的影响


中枢神经系统 （CNS）（大脑和脊髓）和周围神经系统 （PNS） 之间存在关键差异，例如神经胶质细胞类型、是否有血脑屏障的保护、突触连接模式等。然而，神经系统的这两个分支之间还有更多相似之处，包括神经元结构和功能、神经免疫和神经血管相互作用，也许最基本的是神经可塑性（包括神经元存活、神经突生长、突触形成、神经胶质生成等过程）和神经退行性变（神经元死亡、轴突病和脱髓鞘等周围神经病变）之间的平衡。本文汇集了关于 CNS 和 PNS 之间神经系统健康和疾病共享机制的最新研究证据，特别是与肥胖和糖尿病等代谢疾病相关的机制。这一证据支持这样一种说法，即神经系统的两个分支密切相关，以前研究不足的中枢神经变性或周围神经变性病症实际上可能通过共同的遗传和细胞机制同时在整个神经系统中表现出来。由于大脑研究和周围神经研究之间的研究孤岛以及神经科学作为一个研究领域对大脑的过分强调，这个话题一直被严重低估。在体内的这个神经系统中，神经元如何保持健康与遭受损伤和疾病可能存在共同和相互关联的机制，这为了解神经系统疾病的病因和神经保护疗法的未来发展提供了新的机会。