S. Korean researchers discover central pathway for discharge of brain waste products

치매 유발 '뇌 노폐물' 배출 경로 찾았다! 치료제 개발 가능성

If waste products generated by brain activity accumulate, they can damage nerve cells, resulting in brain disorders such as dementia.
South Korean researchers have, for the first time globally, identified the central pathway through which waste products exit the brain, proposing a new method for treating dementia.
Jeong Eun-joo has the details.

When we use our brains, a kind of waste product is generated.
If this waste is not expelled from the brain and accumulates, it can damage nerve cells, leading to brain disorders including dementia.

The problem has been that the major pathways for waste, including cerebrospinal fluid, to exit the brain were a mystery.

South Korean researchers, however, have found the central pathway through which cerebrospinal fluid exits the brain.

Cerebrospinal fluid collects in the lymphatic network behind the nose, or the Nasopharyngeal lymphatic plexus.
It then connects to the neck lymphatic vessels and lymph nodes, playing a role in removing cerebrospinal fluid from the brain.

"Our research team precisely visualized the cerebrospinal fluid drainage pathways at the base of the brain and in the neck, using specially engineered mice that express fluorescent proteins in lymphatic vessels."

The key finding is that the lymphatic network behind the nose serves as a hub for the cerebrospinal fluid drainage pathway.

The research team confirmed that aging causes deformation of the lymphatic network behind the nose, leading to a reduction in cerebrospinal fluid drainage.
Interestingly, there was no deformation observed in the neck lymphatic vessels due to aging.

Utilizing this, the team induced the contraction and relaxation of muscle cells in the neck lymphatic vessels through drug control, resulting in those vessels functioning like a pump, making it easier to extract cerebrospinal fluid.

"We aim to develop a method to efficiently stimulate the lymphatic vessels in the neck, to facilitate the drainage of the cerebrospinal fluid --essentially cleaning the brain. This could become a new foundation for the prevention and treatment of neurodegenerative brain diseases, including dementia."

The research team emphasized the significance of this study in that they confirmed the regulation of cerebrospinal fluid drainage, including waste, can be easily controlled not from the head, but from the neck.

The research team is currently researching the pathway for cerebrospinal fluid drainage in primate animal models, obtaining results similar to those in mice.
The results of this study were published in the international academic journal "Nature."

Jeong Eun-joo, Arirang News.

#brain_waste_products #brain_disorder #dementia #brain_diseases #SouthKorea #뇌질환 #치매 #뇌노폐물 #Arirang_News #아리랑뉴스

2024-02-13, 12:00 (KST)

[Catastrophic_Cat_]

This science is celebrated worldwide, congratulations South Korea you just increased our life expectancy. Keep up the great work!