The function of the immune system (IS) in the central nervous system (CNS) has been elusive and challenging to unravel. CNS immunity ranges from inflammatory responses following brain injury to controlling the release of neurotransmitters, and thus, there are still new and unexpected functions to be discovered. Brain diseases, including multiple sclerosis, brain tumors, and neurodegenerative disorders such as Parkinson's or Alzheimer's diseases, display abnormal lymphocyte infiltration and activation of monocytes, macrophages, microglia, and astrocytes, which can lead to an increase in pro-inflammatory cytokines. These diseases are connected with still poorly understood inflammatory responses and immune-related processes that suggest new possibilities for understanding these diseases and developing future therapeutic approaches. The recent growth in the development of engineered antibodies and active immunization for therapeutic purposes along with the success achieved in several related clinical trials have highlighted this field of research, gaining the attention of many academic laboratories and pharmaceutical industries.

In this special issue, our main interest will be on studies investigating specific aspects of the immune response within the CNS. We take particular interest in manuscripts reporting new evidence demonstrating immune alterations in neurodegenerative disorders and brain cancer, anti-inflammatory or immunotherapy treatments that may improve disease prognosis, and basic science studies conducted in disease models illustrating mechanisms of neuroimmunology and/or the beneficial or adverse effects of drugs.

We invite investigators to contribute both original articles and review articles. Potential topics include, but are not limited to:

• Systemic immune alterations
• Central immune responses, such as neuroinflammation and glial cell responses
• Innate and adaptive immune responses in the CNS
• Brain immunosurveillance
• Cross-talk between the systemic and central IS
• Immunity and etiopathogenesis
• Multiple sclerosis and autoimmune encephalopathies associated with autoantibodies
• Brain tumor immunology and immunotherapy
• Effects of aging on the function of the IS and age-associated brain disorders
• Preclinical studies of immune-based therapeutics
• Clinical studies on the role of IS and interpretation of the outcome of clinical trials
• Epidemiological studies on the IS, such as the influence of anti-inflammatory treatments or genetic polymorphisms on inflammatory genes

Before submission authors should carefully read over the journal's Author Guidelines, which are located at http://www.hindawi.com/journals/jir/guidelines/. Prospective authors should submit an electronic copy of their complete manuscript through the journal Manuscript Tracking System at http://mts.hindawi.com/submit/journals/jir/icns/ according to the following timetable: