Changing stroke rehab and research worldwide now.Time is Brain! trillions and trillions of neurons that DIE each day because there are NO effective hyperacute therapies besides tPA(only 12% effective). I have 523 posts on hyperacute therapy, enough for researchers to spend decades proving them out. These are my personal ideas and blog on stroke rehabilitation and stroke research. Do not attempt any of these without checking with your medical provider. Unless you join me in agitating, when you need these therapies they won't be there.

What this blog is for:

My blog is not to help survivors recover, it is to have the 10 million yearly stroke survivors light fires underneath their doctors, stroke hospitals and stroke researchers to get stroke solved. 100% recovery. The stroke medical world is completely failing at that goal, they don't even have it as a goal. Shortly after getting out of the hospital and getting NO information on the process or protocols of stroke rehabilitation and recovery I started searching on the internet and found that no other survivor received useful information. This is an attempt to cover all stroke rehabilitation information that should be readily available to survivors so they can talk with informed knowledge to their medical staff. It lays out what needs to be done to get stroke survivors closer to 100% recovery. It's quite disgusting that this information is not available from every stroke association and doctors group.

Showing posts with label glymphatic system. Show all posts
Showing posts with label glymphatic system. Show all posts

Monday, June 22, 2026

BODY CLOCK MAY HOLD KEY TO STROKE RECOVERY

 Your competent? doctor better have access and KNOW ABOUT THIS RESEARCH!

BODY CLOCK MAY HOLD KEY TO STROKE RECOVERY

Strengthening the body's natural biological clock may improve recovery after a stroke by enhancing the brain's ability to clear waste and reduce inflammation, according to a new study published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation.


Researchers from the University of Rochester Medical Center found that interventions aimed at reinforcing circadian rhythms — including timed light exposure, melatonin, a body clock-targeting drug, and time-restricted feeding — improved recovery outcomes in mouse models of stroke.

The study also showed improvements in the glymphatic system, the brain's waste-clearance network that helps remove harmful substances and inflammatory signals while delivering nutrients through cerebrospinal fluid.

The rest is behind a paywall at the Sunday Guardian.

Tuesday, May 5, 2026

Scientists Can Now Measure Brain Aging — Here's What It Means For You by mindbodygreen

 Ask your competent? doctor for this test AND THE PROTOCOLS THAT PROMOTE THIS DRAINAGE!

I'm sorry, your doctor isn't competent enough to do that simple task? And the board of directors is so incompetent they have no standards for staff performance?

Scientists Can Now Measure Brain Aging — Here's What It Means For You

Your brain has its own cleaning crew. Called the The takeaway
This large study suggests that glymphatic function is a measurable marker of brain aging. Lifestyle factors like blood pressure control, strength training for women, and lung health for men may help slow the process. The research makes a strong case for personalized, proactive approaches to keeping your brain healthy as you age. system, this network of channels flushes out waste while you sleep, including proteins linked to Alzheimer's and other brain diseases.

For years, researchers suspected this system played a role in how our brains age, but measuring it in living people was nearly impossible. Now, a major new study has changed that and pinpointed specific lifestyle factors that could help keep your brain younger.

How researchers tracked the brain's waste-clearing system

The glymphatic system works mostly while you sleep, using fluid to clear toxins from brain tissue. While animal studies have shown how important it is, checking how well it works in humans has been tricky until recently.
In a recent study, researchers analyzed glymphatic function1 in 40,488 people from the UK Biobank using a brain imaging tool called the DTI-ALPS index. Their goal was to figure out whether this measurement could reliably track brain aging and identify factors we can actually change. They tested their model against two other datasets to make sure it held up.

Stronger waste clearance meant younger-looking brains

The DTI-ALPS index lined up with several markers of aging: actual age, telomere length (a sign of how old your cells are), brain structure, and thinking skills.





Put simply, people with better glymphatic function tended to have brains that looked biologically younger.

When researchers built a model using this index to predict brain age, it worked well.

This suggests that glymphatic function isn't just linked to brain health; it may be a useful way to measure how fast your brain is aging.

Blood pressure below 120 & sex-specific factors made a difference

Perhaps the most useful finding: keeping systolic blood pressure below 120 mmHg was strongly tied to slower brain aging. That's lower than the typical "normal" cutoff of 120/80, suggesting tighter blood pressure control may matter more than we thought when it comes to the brain.

The study also found differences between men and women. In women, musculoskeletal health (think bones and muscles) was a key factor in brain aging. In men, lung function mattered more. These findings suggest that the best lifestyle approach may depend on your sex.

What you can do to support your brain's cleaning system

Based on this research, here are some practical strategies to consider:

  • Keep blood pressure in check: Aim for systolic BP below 120 mmHg through diet (less sodium, more potassium-rich foods), regular cardiovascular exercise, stress management, and medication if your doctor recommends it.

  • For women, focus on muscle and bone health: Strength training and weight-bearing exercise may support brain aging outcomes. Building muscle two to three times per week is a solid starting point.

  • For men, prioritize lung health: Aerobic exercise, breathing practices, and not smoking can help keep your lungs working well. Activities like running, cycling, or swimming are especially helpful.

  • Get quality sleep: The glymphatic system is most active during deep sleep. Aim for seven to nine hours of restful sleep, and address issues like sleep apnea that can get in the way of waste clearance.

  • The takeaway

  • This large study suggests that glymphatic function is a measurable marker of brain aging. Lifestyle factors like blood pressure control, strength training for women, and lung health for men may help slow the process. The research makes a strong case for personalized, proactive approaches to keeping your brain healthy as you age.

Friday, October 24, 2025

Brain’s Waste System Breakdown Linked to Dementia Risk

 Your competent? doctor created protocols for ensuring it is working correctly years ago, right! NO, So incompetence prevailed?

  • glymphatic system (14 posts to October 2016)
  • glymphatic function (1 post to April 2022)
  • Glymphatic dysfunction (2 posts to April 2023)
  • glymphatic clearance (3 posts to June 2022)
  • glymphatic toxins (1 post to October 2013)
  • Brain’s Waste System Breakdown Linked to Dementia Risk

    Summary: Researchers have discovered that problems with the brain’s waste-clearing system—the glymphatic system—may significantly raise the risk of developing dementia. In one of the largest studies to date, MRI data from 40,000 adults revealed that impaired cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) flow predicts dementia risk years before symptoms appear.

    The findings show that cardiovascular issues like high blood pressure can damage this system, worsening toxin buildup in the brain. Improving sleep quality and managing blood pressure could help keep this system functioning and lower dementia risk.

    Key Facts:

    • Waste Clearance Link: Impaired glymphatic system function predicted dementia risk in 40,000 adults.
    • Cardiovascular Impact: High blood pressure and other vascular risk factors disrupted brain waste flow.
    • Preventive Potential: Good sleep and blood pressure control may protect glymphatic function and reduce dementia risk.

    Source: University of Cambridge

    Problems with the brain’s waste clearance system could underlie many cases of dementia and help explain why poor sleep patterns and cardiovascular risk factors such as high blood pressure increase the risk of dementia.

    A study led by researchers at the University of Cambridge found that impaired movement of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) – the clear liquid that cushions and cleans the brain – predicted risk of dementia later in life among 40,000 adults recruited to the UK Biobank.

    Their findings are published today in Alzheimer’s & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer’s Association.

    In the healthy brain, the so-called glymphatic system serves to clear out toxins and waste materials, keeping the brain healthy. Only discovered as recently as 2012, this system functions by flushing CSF through the brain along tiny channels around blood vessels known as perivascular spaces. It collects waste then drains out of the brain, helping keep it clean and healthy.

    The glymphatic system is thought to be important in protecting against many of the common forms of dementia, which are often characterised by the build-up of toxic substances in the brain – for example, Alzheimer’s disease sees amyloid ‘plaques’ and tau ‘tangles accumulate in brain tissue.

    One of the most common forms of dementia is vascular dementia, caused by reduced blood flow to the brain. The most common cause of this type of dementia is cerebral small vessel disease, which affects the small blood vessels in the brain.

    But the impact of cerebral small vessel disease is even greater because it also interacts with other dementias making them worse; for example, a study of nuns in the US found that among those nuns whose brains showed signs of Alzheimer’s disease post mortem, only around a half exhibited symptoms of dementia – but this increased to around nine in 10 if they also had cerebral small vessel disease.

    Professor Hugh Markus and colleagues at the University of Cambridge wanted to see whether cerebral small vessel disease and other cardiovascular risk factors damage the glymphatic system – and whether this in turn increases the risk of dementia.

    Until recently, it has only been possible to study glymphatic function in mice, but recent advances in MRI scanning have made it possible to study it indirectly in humans. Even so, it was only possible to do this practically in relatively small numbers, but Yutong Chen, while a medical student at the University of Cambridge, developed machine learning algorithms capable of assessing glymphatic functions from MRI scans at scale.

    The team applied the algorithm to MRI scans taken from around 40,000 adults in UK Biobank. They found three biomarkers – biological signatures – associated with impaired glymphatic function assessed at baseline, predicted the risk of dementia occurring over the subsequent decade. 

    One of these was DTI-ALPS, a measure of the diffusion of water molecules along the perivascular spaces. Another was the size of the choroid plexus, where the CSF is produced. The third measure reflected the flow velocity of CSF into the brain.

    Yutong Chen, from the Department of Clinical Neurosciences at Cambridge, said: “Although we have to be cautious about indirect markers, our work provides good evidence in a very large cohort that disruption of the glymphatic system plays a role in dementia. This is exciting because it allows to ask: how can we improve this?”

    Further analysis showed that several cardiovascular risk factors impaired glymphatic function – and hence increased dementia risk, and that this was partly via causing cerebral small vessel disease, which is visible in the MRI scans.

    First author Hui Hong, now a radiologist at the Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China, said: “We already have evidence that small vessel disease in the brain accelerates diseases like Alzheimer’s, and now we have a likely explanation why. Disruption to the glymphatic system is likely to impair our ability to clear the brain of the amyloid and tau that causes Alzheimer’s disease.”

    The research suggests possible approaches for reducing dementia risk. One is to look at strategies for improving glymphatic function. Sleep plays an important role in glymphatic function, and so disrupted sleep patterns are likely to impair its ability to clear toxins. Alternatively, there may be existing medicines that could be repurposed, or new ones that could be developed, to improve glymphatic function.

    Another possible approach is to treat vascular risk factors such as high blood pressure. This is supported by recent studies: the SPRINT MIND trial, for example, showed that intensive blood pressure control (maintaining a systolic blood pressure of less than 120 mm Hg) led to a 20% reduction in cognitive decline or dementia compared to participants in the standard treatment group.

    Professor Markus, who leads the Stroke Research Group at the University of Cambridge and is a Fellow of Clare Hall, Cambridge, said: “We already know the importance of cardiovascular risk factors when it comes to dementia, and our findings further emphasise this link.

    “At least a quarter of all dementia risk is accounted for by common risk factors like blood pressure and smoking. If these impair glymphatic function, then we can intervene. Treating high blood pressure or encouraging people to stop smoking would be an achievable way to helping the glymphatic system work better.”

    Professor Bryan Williams, Chief Scientific and Medical Officer at the British Heart Foundation, said: “This study offers us a fascinating glimpse into how problems with the brain’s waste clearance system could be quietly increasing the chances of developing dementia later in life.

    “By improving our understanding of the glymphatic system, this study opens exciting new avenues for research to treat and prevent dementia. It also emphasises the importance of managing known cardiovascular risk factors, such as high blood pressure, for reducing dementia risk.”

    Funding: The research was funded by the British Heart Foundation, with additional support from the National Institute for Health and Care Research Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre.

    Key Questions Answered:

    Q: What is the glymphatic system and why is it important?

    A: The glymphatic system is the brain’s cleaning network that flushes out toxins and waste through cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). Disruption of this system can lead to toxin buildup, potentially contributing to dementia.

    Q: How do cardiovascular factors affect dementia risk?

    A: High blood pressure and small vessel disease impair glymphatic flow, reducing the brain’s ability to remove waste such as amyloid and tau proteins associated with Alzheimer’s disease.

    Q: Can improving sleep or lowering blood pressure reduce dementia risk?

    A: Yes. The study suggests that deep, regular sleep and treating vascular risk factors may enhance waste clearance in the brain, offering practical ways to protect against cognitive decline.

    About this dementia and neurology research news

    Author: Craig Brierley
    Source: University of Cambridge
    Contact: Craig Brierley – University of Cambridge
    Image: The image is credited to Neuroscience News

    Original Research: Open access.

    MRI markers of cerebrospinal fluid dynamics predict dementia and mediate the impact of cardiovascular risk” by Hugh Markus et al. Alzheimer’s & Dementia

    Friday, June 13, 2025

    Supporting Stroke Recovery Through the Glymphatic System: Joyce Lee-Iannotti, MD, FAAN, FAASM

     I don't watch videos, they don't provide easy referbacks to check out what's mentioned. Or you could check out all the stuff Ialready out out there:

  • glymphatic system (12 posts to October 2016)
  • glymphatic function (1 post to April 2022)
  • Glymphatic dysfunction (2 posts to April 2023)
  • glymphatic clearance (3 posts to June 2022)
  • glymphatic toxins (1 post to October 2013)
  • Supporting Stroke Recovery Through the Glymphatic System: Joyce Lee-Iannotti, MD, FAAN, FAASM

    The sleep and stroke neurologist at Barrow Neurological Institute detailed how improving glymphatic function may prevent strokes and enhance recovery from both hemorrhagic and ischemic events. [WATCH TIME: 5 minutes]

    WATCH TIME: 5 minutes

    Tuesday, January 7, 2025

    New Biomarker Links Brain Waste Clearance to Vascular Dementia

     Your competent? doctor needs to measure this and provide EXACT PROTOCOLS to solve the problem!

    New Biomarker Links Brain Waste Clearance to Vascular Dementia

    New Biomarker Links Brain Waste Clearance to Vascular Dementia

    Summary: A new study has identified a biomarker, DTI-ALPS, which connects glymphatic system dysfunction to vascular dementia. By analyzing over 3,750 participants, researchers found that lower DTI-ALPS scores correlated with worse executive function, highlighting the glymphatic system’s role in clearing brain waste.

    The study also uncovered a potential pathway linking impaired waste clearance to cognitive decline, mediated by free water accumulation in white matter. These findings provide a robust tool for clinical trials and potential interventions, including lifestyle changes and medications, to enhance glymphatic function and treat vascular dementia.

    3 Key Facts:

    • DTI-ALPS Role: DTI-ALPS scores measure glymphatic system health, with lower scores linked to cognitive impairment.
    • Pathway Identified: Impaired glymphatic function may lead to free water accumulation, white matter damage, and cognitive decline.
    • Diverse Validation: The biomarker was independently validated across four cohorts with diverse demographics.

    Source: USC

    A new study from the Keck School of Medicine of USC has tested a biomarker linked to vascular dementia across four separate groups and proposed an explanation for how cognitive impairment arises.

    The findings were just published in Alzheimer’s & Dementia®: The Journal of the Alzheimer’s Association.

    Vascular dementia is the second most common form of dementia following Alzheimer’s disease. It has similar symptoms, including problems with memory, decision-making and language, and represents a significant public health problem as the global population continues to age.

    > This shows a brain.
    The researchers found that lower DTI-ALPS scores, which indicated damage to the glymphatic system, were associated with worse executive function. Credit: Neuroscience News

    The condition is usually caused by cerebral small vessel disease (cSVD), which damages the brain’s small blood vessels—but researchers don’t yet know the exact mechanism linking cSVD to dementia.

    One theory involves problems with the glymphatic system, which helps clear waste from the brain.

    A team of researchers from the Mark and Mary Stevens Neuroimaging and Informatics Institute (Stevens INI), part of the Keck School of Medicine, as well as researchers from the Biomarkers for Vascular Contributions to Cognitive Impairment and Dementia (MarkVCID) consortium, have found new evidence in support of that theory.

    With funding from the National Institutes of Health, the group analyzed brain scans and cognitive tests from a total of 3750 people.

    The researchers then used technique known Diffusion Tensor Image Analysis along the Perivascular Space – or DTI-ALPS – to determine how well the glymphatic system was functioning in each person based on their brain scans.

    The researchers compared the DTI-ALPS results with the cognitive test results and found that people with lower DTI-ALPS scores also performed lower on cognitive tests.

    The study confirmed that a low DTI-ALPS score is a biomarker for cSVD and suggests that glymphatic damage may be driving cognitive decline.

    “The most significant finding is that we found a clear link between DTI-ALPS and cognitive function in all four cohorts, with ages ranging from middle-age through older adulthood,” said Danny J. J. Wang, PhD, the study’s senior author and a professor of neurology and radiology and director of imaging technology innovation at the Keck School of Medicine’s Stevens INI.

    Wang and his team also analyzed the progression of symptoms across study participants, finding a possible pathway to explain how glymphatic problems lead to cognitive impairment.

    Their results provide a target for clinical researchers seeking to develop treatments for vascular dementia, Wang said, and may also prove useful for treating symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease.

    Validating the biomarker

    The DTI-ALPS biomarker relies on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to measure water movement along perivascular spaces, fluid-filled regions around the brain’s blood vessels that are a key part of the glymphatic system.

    If researchers detect changes in DTI-ALPS score, that can indicate damage and suggest that the waste clearance system is not functioning as it should.

    In the present study, Wang and his team analyzed MRI scans to collect a measure of DTI-ALPS for each participant. They compared those measurements to each person’s level of executive function, a composite score of cognition that includes memory, attention, planning, emotion regulation and other abilities that tend to suffer as dementia progresses.  

    The researchers found that lower DTI-ALPS scores, which indicated damage to the glymphatic system, were associated with worse executive function.

    That link was verified independently in four separate participant groups—from the MarkVCID consortium; the University of California, Davis; the University of California, San Francisco; and the Framingham Heart Study—with a total of 3750 participants.

    Independently validating the DTI-ALPS biomarker in each of the four cohorts provides strong evidence for the glymphatic system’s role in cSVD and vascular dementia, Wang said.

    The racial and ethnic diversity of the participant groups, as well as the range of ages included (averaging between 56 and 76 years of age across cohorts) also suggests that the findings are robust and can be generalized to a broader patient population.

    Treatments for vascular dementia

    Once the team linked problems with glymphatic function to declines in executive function, they moved on to the next question — why?

    To find out more, the researchers conducted a mediation analysis, which studies the process or mechanism connecting two or more variables. In this case, they found that another biomarker—”free water” or excess water in the brain’s white matter—helped explain the link between glymphatic problems and cognitive decline.

    In this potential pathway, “first waste clearance is impaired, which causes accumulation of free water in the brain’s white matter. That leads to tissue damage and eventually to cognitive impairment,” said the paper’s first author, Xiaodan Liu, MD, PhD, a former postdoctoral researcher at the USC Stevens INI, now an assistant researcher in radiology at the University of California, San Francisco.

    More research, including longitudinal work, is needed to confirm whether each step in that pathway is causal. But the team’s findings indicate that the DTI-ALPS score biomarker for vascular dementia is robust and ready to be used in clinical trials, Wang said.

    Those studies could explore enhancing glymphatic function as a way to treat vascular dementia. Lifestyle changes such as exercising more and improving sleep quality are one way to do that, Wang said, and future studies may also reveal medications that can help.

    The findings could also provide clues for how to treat Alzheimer’s disease, which has been linked to low DTI-ALPS scores in other studies.

    About this research

    In addition to Wang, the study’s other authors are Xiaodan Liu, Xingfeng Shao and Kay Jann from the Laboratory of fMRI Technology, Mark and Mary Stevens Neuroimaging and Informatics Institute, Keck School of Medicine of USC, University of Southern California; Steven Cen and John M. Ringman from the Department of Neurology, Keck School of Medicine of USC, University of Southern California; Pauline Maillard and Charles S. DeCarli from the University of California, Davis; Giuseppe Barisano from Stanford University; Arvind Caprihan from the Mind Research Network, Albuquerque, New Mexico; Hanzhang Lu from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine; Konstantinos Arfanakis from the Illinois Institute of Technology and Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, Illinois; Brian T. Gold from the University of Kentucky; Sudha Seshadri, Claudia L. Satizabal and Mohamad Habes from the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas; Alexa S. Beiser from Boston University; Joel H. Kramer and Lara Stables from the University of California, San Francisco; Herpreet Singh, Kristin Schwab and Steven M. Greenberg from Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts; and Karl G. Helmer from Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts General Hospital and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

    Funding: This work was supported by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke and the National Institute on Aging, part of the National Institutes of Health [U24NS100591, UH3NS100599, UH3NS100605, UH3NS100588, UH3NS100608, UH3NS100606, UH3NS100598 and UH3NS100614]

    About this neurology research news

    Author: Laura LeBlanc
    Source: USC
    Contact: Laura LeBlanc – USC
    Image: The image is credited to Neuroscience News

    Original Research: Open access.
    MRI free water mediates the association between diffusion tensor image analysis along the perivascular space and executive function in four independent middle to aged cohorts” by Danny J. J. Wang et al. Alzheimer’s & Dementia



    Friday, August 16, 2024

    Restoring Brain’s Waste-Clearing System Reverses Aging Effects

     Didn't your competent? doctor start creating protocols on this years ago? NO? So you don't have a functioning stroke doctor, do you? Your doctor was incompetent for DOING NOTHING before and will stay incompetent by doing nothing now to get this to human testing! There are NO excuses for such behavior!

    Restoring Brain’s Waste-Clearing System Reverses Aging Effects

    Summary: New research in mice reveals that aging slows the brain’s ability to clear out harmful waste, contributing to neurological disorders like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. Scientists have found that restoring function in the brain’s waste-clearing system, known as the glymphatic system, can reverse these age-related effects.

    Using a clinically approved drug, researchers increased the efficiency of waste removal, offering a potential treatment strategy for age-related brain diseases.

    Key facts:

    • Aging slows the brain’s waste-clearing process, increasing the risk of neurological disorders.
    • The glymphatic system, responsible for brain detoxification, can be restored to youthful efficiency.
    • A known drug successfully revived waste-clearing in aged mice, showing promise for future therapies.

    Source: University of Rochester

    Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and other neurological disorders can be seen as “dirty brain” diseases, where the brain struggles to clear out harmful waste. Aging is a key risk factor because, as we grow older, our brain’s ability to remove toxic buildup slows down.

    However, new research in mice demonstrates that it’s possible to reverse age-related effects and restore the brain’s waste-clearing process.

    This shows a brain.
    The new research combines advanced imaging and particle tracking techniques to describe for the first time in detail the route via the cervical lymph vessels in the neck through which half of dirty CSF exits the brain. Credit: Neuroscience News

    “This research shows that restoring cervical lymph vessel function can substantially rescue the slower removal of waste from the brain associated with age,” said Douglas Kelley, PhD, a professor of Mechanical Engineering in the University of Rochester Hajim School of Engineering and Applied Sciences.

    “Moreover, this was accomplished with a drug already being used clinically, offering a potential treatment strategy.”  

    Kelley is one of the lead authors of the study, which appears in the journal Nature Aging, along with Maiken Nedergaard, MD, DMSc, co-director the University’s Center for Translational Neuromedicine.

    First described by Nedergaard and her colleagues in 2012, the glymphatic system is the brain’s unique waste removal process that uses cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) to wash away excess proteins generated by energy hungry neurons and other cells in the brain during normal activity.

    This discovery pointed the way for potential new approaches to treat diseases commonly associated with the accumulation of protein waste in the brain, such Alzheimer’s (beta amyloid and tau) and Parkinson’s (alpha-synuclein).

    In healthy and young brains, the glymphatic system does a good job of flushing away these toxic proteins, however, as we age, this system slows, setting the stage for these diseases.

    A network of tiny pumps draws waste from the brain

    Once laden with protein waste, CSF in the skull needs to make its way to the lymphatic system and ultimately the kidneys, where it is processed along with the body’s other waste.

    The new research combines advanced imaging and particle tracking techniques to describe for the first time in detail the route via the cervical lymph vessels in the neck through which half of dirty CSF exits the brain.  

    In addition to measuring the flow of CSF, the researchers were able observe and record the pulsing of lymph vessels in the neck that helps draw CSF out of the brain.

    “Unlike the cardiovascular system which has one big pump, the heart, fluid in the lymphatic system is instead transported by a network of tiny pumps,” said Kelley.  

    These microscopic pumps, called lymphangions, have valves to prevent backflow and are strung together, one after another, to form lymph vessels.

    The researchers found that as the mice aged, the frequency of contractions decreased, and the valves failed. As a result, the speed of dirty CSF flowing out of the brains of older mice was 63 percent slower compared to younger animals.

    Known drug restarts flow of brain cleaning fluids

    The team then set out to see if they could revive the lymphangions and identified a drug called prostaglandin F2α, a hormone-like compound commonly used medically to induce labor and known to aid smooth muscle contraction.

    The lymphangions are lined with smooth muscle cells, and when the researchers applied the drug to the cervical lymph vessels in older mice, the frequency of contractions and the flow of dirty CSF from the brain both increased, returning to a level of efficiency found in younger mice. 

    “These vessels are conveniently located near the surface of the skin, we know they are important, and we now know how to accelerate function,” said Kelley.  

    “One can see how this approach, perhaps combined with other interventions, could be the basis for future therapies for these diseases.”

    Additional contributors to the study include first authors Ting Du, Aditya Raghunandan, and Humberto Mestre, and Virginia Plá, Guojun Liu, Antonio Ladrón-de-Guevara, Evan Newbold, Paul Tobin, Daniel Gahn-Martinez, Saurav Pattanayak, Qinwen Huang, and Weiguo Peng with the University of Rochester. 

    Funding: The research was supported with funding from National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, the Lundbeck Foundation, the Novo Nordisk Foundation, the Human Frontier Science Program, the Miriam and Sheldon G. Adelson Medical Research Foundation, the Simons Foundation, the EU Joint Programme – Neurodegenerative Disease Research, the US Army Research Office, the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, and the BRAIN Initiative.  

    About this neurology and aging research news

    Author: Mark Michaud
    Source: University of Rochester
    Contact: Mark Michaud – University of Rochester
    Image: The image is credited to Neuroscience News

    Tuesday, February 28, 2023

    Initiative to Improve Sleep and Clearance of the Brain

    Make sure your doctor and hospital are closely following this so when results come out, you get notified of the interventions needed.  The idea is to prevent your likely chances of getting dementia.

    Your risk of dementia, has your doctor told you of this?

    1. A documented 33% dementia chance post-stroke from an Australian study?   May 2012.

    2. Then this study came out and seems to have a range from 17-66%. December 2013.`    

    3. A 20% chance in this research.   July 2013.

    4. Dementia Risk Doubled in Patients Following Stroke September 2018 

    The latest here:

    Initiative to Improve Sleep and Clearance of the Brain

    Summary: A new study aims to assess the usefulness of a new technology that could speed up and enhance the clearing of metabolic waste via the glymphatic system as a person sleeps.

    Source: University of North Carolina

    The U.S. Department of Defense is funding the first human trial of a device to speed up and enhance the natural system of brain cleansing that occurs when we sleep. 

    The trial will be conducted among 90 people at three trial sites – University of North Carolina, University of Washington School of Medicine, and a collaboration between Oregon Health & Science University and the Brain Electrophysiology Laboratory (BEL). Results are expected in the fall of 2022.

    Monday, April 25, 2022

    Initiative to Improve Sleep and Clearance of the Brain

    You'll want brain clearance to try to prevent dementia, so ask your doctor EXACTLY how the protocol they have will do that.

    Initiative to Improve Sleep and Clearance of the Brain

    Summary: A new study aims to assess the usefulness of a new technology that could speed up and enhance the clearing of metabolic waste via the glymphatic system as a person sleeps.

    Source: University of North Carolina

    The U.S. Department of Defense is funding the first human trial of a device to speed up and enhance the natural system of brain cleansing that occurs when we sleep. 

    The trial will be conducted among 90 people at three trial sites – University of North Carolina, University of Washington School of Medicine, and a collaboration between Oregon Health & Science University and the Brain Electrophysiology Laboratory (BEL). Results are expected in the fall of 2022.

    Recent discoveries point to the importance of quality sleep for clearance of brain metabolic waste through the newly-discovered brain glymphatic system.

    If sleep is disrupted, so are these crucial processes, leading to cognitive impairment – things like faulty motor coordination, attention deficits, slower processing speed, decreased decision-making capabilities, and hampered short-term memory, in addition to increasing risk of neurodegenerative disease later in life.

    These issues can have life-or-death consequences for service members in the U.S. military, which is why the Department of Defense is funding innovative research initiatives, including this three-year, $4.3-million, project with the ultimate goal of helping service members overcome acute sleep deprivation and chronic sleep restriction.

    The scientists leading this effort are from UNC-Chapel Hill, the University of Washington School of Medicine, the Brain Electrophysiology Lab Oregon Health & Science University, and Montana State University.

    “Our approach is to continue to validate novel imaging approaches of the human glymphatic system while assessing novel technology to improve glymphatic clearance and cognitive function,” said co-principal investigator Dawn Kernagis, PhD, assistant professor of neurosurgery at UNC School of Medicine.

    “If this works, it would have major implications for service members and potentially anyone with diagnosed sleep dysfunction. It could also have implications for people with other neurological conditions, such as traumatic brain injury, Alzheimer’s disease, and other dementias.”

    This project, titled “Augmented Neurophysiology of Sleep and Performance Readiness,” is part of the Medical Technology Enterprise Consortium, a collaboration between industry and academia to facilitate research and development activities, in cooperation with the U.S. Army Medical Research and Development Command and other Department of Defense agencies in the biomedical sciences to protect, treat, and optimize the health and performance of military personnel.

    This effort was years in the making, starting with the discovery of the glymphatic system by co-principal investigator Jeffrey Iliff, PhD and Maiken Nedergaard, MD. In 2013, Science Magazine called it one of the Top 10 discoveries of the year.

    Iliff, a professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences and neurology at the University of Washington School of Medicine, said the biology is straightforward. Cerebral spinal fluid surrounds the brain, and as we sleep, fluid washes through brain cells and supports clearance of difference wastes. Iliff’s TED Talk on this process has been viewed more than 5 million times.

    Scientists think this glymphatic function is at the heart of the restorative power of sleep. And so, scientists think disrupting sleep disrupts the glymphatic system, impairing cognition and potentially impacting long-term brain health.

    This shows a woman in the headband device
    Functional prototype to test in-home sleep treatment. Electronics and battery are perched on top of the head. Next generation of the device will have electronics/battery integrated in the headband. Credit: BEL Company

    “Improving glymphatic function, whether pharmacologically or by means of a device, could improve the cognitive effects of acute sleep deprivation and chronic sleep restriction,” said Iliff.. “Our lab’s research over the past eight years on brain-waste clearance in animals has helped define glymphatic biology. Now we hope to see if we can use what we’ve learned to help people overcome poor or interrupted sleep and the brain dysfunction that follows.”

    The proposed technology for improving glymphatic function is called Augmented Neural Oscillation Driver or ‘AugNOD’, an easily-to-use, wireless, combined electroencephalography (EEG)/transcranial electrical stimulation headband that can be applied before sleep to monitor and improve slow wave sleep and glymphatic clearance. Project co-principal investigator Don Tucker, PhD, professor emeritus at the University of Oregon and BEL CEO, created the technology. 

    The research team has also developed and validated an imaging and analysis system, including the use of magnetic resonance imaging to measure glymphatic exchange of fluids when individuals are given an IV containing contrasting agents. The new study will validate novel imaging approaches developed at the University of Washington School of Medicine that do not require contrast agents.

    Through complete modeling conducted at the University of Montana, the team will also be able to capture long-range fluid transport and diffusion in the brain, as well as changes in brain blood vessel pressure; both are closely linked to glymphatic pathway function. 

    “Beyond evaluating potential technology for improving glymphatic function, the resulting imaging and modeling approaches that will be validated in this study could be incredibly impactful for the neuroscience and neurological research fields given the limited options for studying a potentially critical system for short and long-term brain health,” Kernagis said.

    About this neurotech research news

    Author: Mark Derewicz
    Source: University of North Carolina
    Contact: Mark Derewicz – University of North Carolina
    Image: The image is credited to BEL Company

     

    Wednesday, November 17, 2021

    Initiative to Improve Sleep and Clearance of the Brain

     You'll have to ask your doctor if your brain glymphatic system was impaired from your stroke and what protocols they have to restore that system. You do expect your doctor to know EXACTLY what damage your stroke caused AND THE PROTOCOLS that will fix them. Or are you OK with your doctor's incompetence in not getting you 100% recovered? Getting you recovered is your doctor's responsibility,don't let him/her dump it on you by using the 'get out of jail free' statement: 'All strokes are different,all stroke recoveries are different.' Laugh maniacally in their face and ask them;'You expect me to believe that crapola excuse?'

    Initiative to Improve Sleep and Clearance of the Brain

     

    Summary: A new study aims to assess the usefulness of a new technology that could speed up and enhance the clearing of metabolic waste via the glymphatic system as a person sleeps.

    Source: University of North Carolina

    The U.S. Department of Defense is funding the first human trial of a device to speed up and enhance the natural system of brain cleansing that occurs when we sleep. 

    The trial will be conducted among 90 people at three trial sites – University of North Carolina, University of Washington School of Medicine, and a collaboration between Oregon Health & Science University and the Brain Electrophysiology Laboratory (BEL). Results are expected in the fall of 2022.

    Recent discoveries point to the importance of quality sleep for clearance of brain metabolic waste through the newly-discovered brain glymphatic system.

    If sleep is disrupted, so are these crucial processes, leading to cognitive impairment – things like faulty motor coordination, attention deficits, slower processing speed, decreased decision-making capabilities, and hampered short-term memory, in addition to increasing risk of neurodegenerative disease later in life.

    These issues can have life-or-death consequences for service members in the U.S. military, which is why the Department of Defense is funding innovative research initiatives, including this three-year, $4.3-million, project with the ultimate goal of helping service members overcome acute sleep deprivation and chronic sleep restriction.

    The scientists leading this effort are from UNC-Chapel Hill, the University of Washington School of Medicine, the Brain Electrophysiology Lab Oregon Health & Science University, and Montana State University.

    “Our approach is to continue to validate novel imaging approaches of the human glymphatic system while assessing novel technology to improve glymphatic clearance and cognitive function,” said co-principal investigator Dawn Kernagis, PhD, assistant professor of neurosurgery at UNC School of Medicine.

    “If this works, it would have major implications for service members and potentially anyone with diagnosed sleep dysfunction. It could also have implications for people with other neurological conditions, such as traumatic brain injury, Alzheimer’s disease, and other dementias.”

    This project, titled “Augmented Neurophysiology of Sleep and Performance Readiness,” is part of the Medical Technology Enterprise Consortium, a collaboration between industry and academia to facilitate research and development activities, in cooperation with the U.S. Army Medical Research and Development Command and other Department of Defense agencies in the biomedical sciences to protect, treat, and optimize the health and performance of military personnel.

    This effort was years in the making, starting with the discovery of the glymphatic system by co-principal investigator Jeffrey Iliff, PhD and Maiken Nedergaard, MD. In 2013, Science Magazine called it one of the Top 10 discoveries of the year.

    Iliff, a professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences and neurology at the University of Washington School of Medicine, said the biology is straightforward. Cerebral spinal fluid surrounds the brain, and as we sleep, fluid washes through brain cells and supports clearance of difference wastes. Iliff’s TED Talk on this process has been viewed more than 5 million times.

    Scientists think this glymphatic function is at the heart of the restorative power of sleep. And so, scientists think disrupting sleep disrupts the glymphatic system, impairing cognition and potentially impacting long-term brain health.

    This shows a woman in the headband device
    Functional prototype to test in-home sleep treatment. Electronics and battery are perched on top of the head. Next generation of the device will have electronics/battery integrated in the headband. Credit: BEL Company

    “Improving glymphatic function, whether pharmacologically or by means of a device, could improve the cognitive effects of acute sleep deprivation and chronic sleep restriction,” said Iliff.. “Our lab’s research over the past eight years on brain-waste clearance in animals has helped define glymphatic biology. Now we hope to see if we can use what we’ve learned to help people overcome poor or interrupted sleep and the brain dysfunction that follows.”

    Tuesday, July 13, 2021

    The Glymphatic System: A Novel Therapeutic Target for Stroke Treatment

     So your doctor needs to have EXACT STROKE PROTOCOLS for measuring and assuring the correct glymphatic levels.

    The Glymphatic System: A Novel Therapeutic Target for Stroke Treatment

    Tao Lv1, Bing Zhao1, Qin Hu2* and Xiaohua Zhang1*
    • 1Department of Neurosurgery, Renji Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China
    • 2Central Laboratory, Renji Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China

    The glymphatic system (GS) is a novel defined brain-wide perivascular transit network between cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and interstitial solutes that facilitates the clearance of brain metabolic wastes. The complicated network of the GS consists of the periarterial CSF influx pathway, astrocytes-mediated convective transport of fluid and solutes supported by AQP4 water channels, and perivenous efflux pathway. Recent researches indicate that the GS dysfunction is associated with various neurological disorders, including traumatic brain injury, hydrocephalus, epilepsy, migraine, and Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Meanwhile, the GS also plays a pivotal role in the pathophysiological process of stroke, including brain edema, blood–brain barrier (BBB) disruption, immune cell infiltration, neuroinflammation, and neuronal apoptosis. In this review, we illustrated the key anatomical structures of the GS, the relationship between the GS and the meningeal lymphatic system, the interaction between the GS and the BBB, and the crosstalk between astrocytes and other GS cellular components. In addition, we contributed to the current knowledge about the role of the GS in the pathology of stroke and the role of AQP4 in stroke. We further discussed the potential use of the GS in early risk assessment, diagnostics, prognostics, and therapeutics of stroke.

    Introduction

    Clearing the metabolic wastes and maintaining the fluid homeostasis are important for brain function. In most organs, the lymphatic network is responsible for the wastes clearance and fluid drainage (Ikomi et al., 2012). However, a hallmark of the brain is the absence of typical lymphatic structures. Due to the presence of blood–brain barrier (BBB), the movement of solutes and ions in the brain is strictly restricted. Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) has been considered to be important for the exchange of water-soluble metabolites; however, its mechanisms remain largely unknown. Iliff et al. (2012) reported the existence of the glymphatic system (GS) in the central nervous system (CNS), which is an alternative clearance system located in the perivascular space and aquaporin-4 (AQP4) dependent (Iliff et al., 2012). Emerging evidence from human studies and rodent models suggests that the GS is crucial for maintaining brain health, and dysfunction of GS is closely associated with various neurological disorders, including aging, neurodegeneration, and acute brain injury (de Leon et al., 2017; Ringstad et al., 2017). In parallel, the meningeal lymphatic vessels were discovered and demonstrated to participate in solutes transport and in immune surveillance (Aspelund et al., 2015; Louveau et al., 2015, 2016; Antila and Karaman, 2017).

    Stroke, a major cause of death and disability, affects over 800,000 individuals annually (Coutts, 2017). It has been well-recognized that the GS plays a crucial role in the pathophysiology of stroke, including brain edema, blood–brain barrier (BBB) disruption, immune cell infiltration, neuroinflammation, and neuronal apoptosis (Ji et al., 2021). Targeting the GS, therefore, has provided potential for the early risk assessment, diagnosis, prognosis, and therapeutic of stroke. In this review, we summarize the latest research progress in the GS, including the anatomy and function, the interaction with the meningeal lymphatic systems and the BBB, and the communication between astrocytes and other GS cellular components. We emphasize the role of the GS in pathophysiology of different stroke subtypes, especially the role of AQP4 in the pathophysiology of stroke. In the end, we summarize the concerns and give some perspectives for future research.

    More at link.

     

    Monday, March 8, 2021

    The role of glymphatic system in the cerebral edema formation after ischemic stroke

    This will only become useful if those future studies occur and create protocols to prevent this edema. But since we have NO STROKE LEADERSHIP OR STRATEGY, nothing will occur.  Incompetence reigns supreme in stroke and will continue until survivors are in charge.

    The role of glymphatic system in the cerebral edema formation after ischemic stroke

    Abstract 

     Cerebral edema following ischemic stroke is predictive of the severity of the eventual stroke related damage, however the effective treatment is limited. The glymphatic system is a recently identified waste clearance pathway in the brain, found in the paravascular space and mainly composed of astrocytes and their aquaporin-4 (AQP4) water channels. In this review, we primarily focus on the role of the glymphatic system in the formation of cerebral edema after ischemic stroke. There is still no definite conclusion whether the influx of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) in the glymphatic system is increased or not after ischemic stroke. However, the reduced interstitial fluid (ISF) clearance after ischemic stroke is definite. Additionally, AQP4 as the most important part of glymphatic system plays a complex bimodal in cerebral edema after ischemic stroke. Most of the research has found that AQP4 deletion in animals reduced cerebral edema after acute ischemic stroke compared with wild type animal models. The mislocalization of astrocytic AQP4 was also presented after ischemic stroke. As the cerebral edema after ischemic stroke is difficult to treat, we discuss several potential treatment targets related to glymphatic system. More studies are needed to explore the role of glymphatic system in the formation of cerebral edema after ischemic stroke and develop probable treatment strategies. 

    Sunday, May 31, 2020

    NanoDevices Trap Dangerous Alzheimer's Plaque

    Which one is your doctor going to prescribe for you?(Wine? Or wait 50 years?) Does your doctor even know of your need for this?

    Your chances of getting dementia.

    1. A documented 33% dementia chance post-stroke from an Australian study?   May 2012.

    2. Then this study came out and seems to have a range from 17-66%. December 2013.

    3. A 20% chance in this research.   July 2013.

    4. Dementia Risk Doubled in Patients Following Stroke September 2018 

    5. Parkinson’s Disease May Have Link to Stroke March 2017


    Wine Cleans Alzheimer's Plaque January 2020

    Or this latest one only tested in mice and probably decades away from common usage? Assuming of course that your doctor and stroke hospital have enough competence/responsibility to get this research going in humans.  Can you wait that long? I'll be doing the wine thing. 

    Even if this works you will then need a SPECIFIC SLEEP PROTOCOL so your glymphatic system can clear the waste from your brain while you sleep. 

    NanoDevices Trap Dangerous Alzheimer's Plaque

    Nanodevices are the newest weapon in medicine’s growing arsenal to fight Alzheimer’s. They capture dangerous peptides before they can assemble to form Alzheimer’s plaques in the brain. Find out how.



    Alzheimer's disease is the sixth leading cause of death in the United States, affecting one in 10 people over the age of 65. Scientists are engineering nanodevices to disrupt processes in the brain that lead to the disease.

    People who are affected by Alzheimer's disease have a specific type of plaque, made of self-assembled molecules called β-amyloid (Aβ) peptides, that build up in the brain over time. This buildup is thought to contribute to loss of neural connectivity and cell death. Researchers are studying ways to prevent the peptides from forming these dangerous plaques in order to halt development of Alzheimer's disease in the brain.

    How it works

    In a multidisciplinary study, scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory, along with collaborators from the Korean Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) and the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), have developed an approach to prevent plaque formation by engineering a nano-sized device that captures the dangerous peptides before they can self-assemble.

    The β-amyloid peptides arise from the breakdown of an amyloid precursor protein, a normal component of brain cells," said Rosemarie Wilton, a molecular biologist in Argonne's Biosciences division. "In a healthy brain, these discarded peptides are eliminated."

    In brains prone to the development of Alzheimer's, however, the brain does not eliminate the peptides, leaving them to conglomerate into the destructive plaques.

    "The idea is that, eventually, a slurry of our nanodevices could collect the peptides as they fall away from the cells -- before they get a chance to aggregate," added Elena Rozhkova, a scientist at Argonne's Center for Nanoscale Materials (CNM), a DOE Office of Science User Facility.

    Decorating the surface

    The researchers covered the surface of the new nanodevice with fragments of an antibody -- a type of protein -- that recognizes and binds to the Aβ peptides. The surface of the nanodevice is spherical and porous, and its craters maximize the available surface area for the antibodies to cover. More surface area means more capacity for capturing the sticky peptides.

    To find the optimal coating, the scientists first searched previous literature to identify antibodies that have high affinity to Aβ peptides. It was important to choose an antibody that attracts the peptides but doesn't bind to other molecules in the brain. Then the team, led by Wilton, produced the antibodies in bacteria and tested their performance.

    A full antibody molecule can be up to a few dozen nanometers long, which is big in the realm of nanotechnology. However, only a fraction of this antibody is involved in attracting the peptides. To maximize the effectiveness and capacity of the nanodevices, Wilton's group produced tiny fragments of the antibodies to decorate the nanodevice's surface.

    Engineering and testing the nanodevice

    The scientists at CNM constructed the base of the porous, spherical nanodevices out of silica, a material that has long been used in biomedical applications due to its flexibility in synthesis and its nontoxicity in the body. Coated with the antibody fragments, the nanodevices capture and trap the Aβ peptides with high selectivity and strength.

    "Many attempts to prevent Alzheimer's have focused on inhibiting enzymes from cutting β-amyloid peptides off of the cell's surface," said Rozhkova, who led the project at CNM. "Our elimination approach is more direct. We've taken building blocks from nanotechnology and biology to engineer a high-capacity 'cage' that traps the peptides and clears them from the brain."

    At CNM, the scientists tested the effectiveness of the devices by comparing how the peptides behaved in the absence and presence of the nanodevices. Using in vitro transmission electron microscopy (TEM), they observed a notable decline in peptide aggregation in the presence of the nanodevices. They further analyzed the interactions using confocal laser scanning microscopy and microscale thermophoresis measurement, two additional techniques for characterizing interactions at the nanoscale.

    The scientists also performed small-angle X-ray scattering to study the processes that make the nanodevices porous during synthesis. The researchers performed the X-ray characterization, led by Byeongdu Lee, a group leader in Argonne's X-ray Science division, at beamline 12-ID-B of the lab's Advanced Photon Source (APS), a DOE Office of Science User Facility.

    These studies supported the case that the nanodevices sequester the peptides from the pathway to aggregation by more than 90 percent compared to the control silica particles without the antibody fragments. However, the devices still needed to demonstrate their effectiveness and safety within cells and brains. Joonseok Lee -- who originally proposed this experiment at Argonne as a Director's Postdoctoral Appointee and pioneered the design for the nanodevice -- continued the study of the therapeutic potential of this device at KIST and KAIST.

    "The Director's Postdoctoral Position is a rare opportunity offered at Argonne that allows for unique research projects and cross-field collaborations that might not otherwise be possible," said Rozhkova. "We have incredible minds at the lab who want to explore topics that don't fall under a predefined area of research, and this program encourages this creativity and innovation."

    Models Demonstrated Safety, Efficacy

    The in vivo experiments -- experiments that took place in living cells -- performed by Lee and his collaborators showed that the nanodevices are nontoxic to cells. They also tested the effectiveness of the devices in the brains of mice with Alzheimer's, demonstrating around 30 percent suppression of plaque formation in brains containing the nanodevices compared to control brains. The research on mice was conducted at KIST and KAIST in South Korea with appropriate government approvals.

    This study combined the strengths of antibody engineering and nanotechnology, the power of two DOE User Facilities at Argonne and innovative collaboration resulting from the laboratory's postdoctoral program to explore a technological approach to preventing Alzheimer's.

    Using a similar approach, scientists may also be able to pair the silica nanoparticles with different antibodies that target molecules related to other neurodegenerative diseases, such as Huntington's disease and Parkinson's disease, which also involve abnormal protein aggregation. The porous nanoparticles may be further upgraded for use in imaging applications including fluorescent imaging and magnetic resonance imaging.
    SOURCE:
    REFERENCE:
    • Huijin Jung, You Jung Chung, Rosemarie Wilton, Chang Heon Lee, Byung Il Lee, Jinyeong Lim, Hyojin Lee, Jong‐Ho Choi, Hyuno Kang, Byeongdu Lee, Elena A. Rozhkova, Chan Beum Park, Joonseok Lee. Silica Nanodepletors: Targeting and Clearing Alzheimer's β‐Amyloid Plaques. Advanced Functional Materials, 2020; 30 (15): 1910475 DOI: 10.1002/adfm.201910475

    Friday, March 27, 2020

    Electrical 'storms' and 'flash floods' drown the brain after a stroke

    To me, this means the goal for tPA administration is 3 minutes after stroke onset. 'Think your stroke team can do that?' Since you will never meet that goal you are going to have to go down the difficult route of solving the 5 causes of the neuronal cascade of death in the first week. 100% recovery is still expected.

    Electrical 'storms' and 'flash floods' drown the brain after a stroke

    Salty fluid regularly flushes through the brain to clear away toxins and waste, but after a stroke, this liquid floods the organ, drowning its cells.
    Swelling in the brain, known as cerebral edema, occurs after stroke as water flows into brain cells and the space surrounding them. For years, scientists thought this excess fluid came from blood, but new evidence suggests that the water springs from another source entirely: the sodium-rich cerebrospinal fluid that permeates the brain. These results come from both live mouse models and human tissue.

    The findings, published Jan. 30 in the journal Science, point to potential treatments to subdue swelling in the brain and improve patients' recovery after stroke.
    Related: From Dino Brains to Thought Control — 10 Fascinating Brain Findings
    CLOSE

    Wash cycle gone wrong

    Strokes occur when a blockage plugs a blood vessel in the brain, or a vessel completely ruptures. Without an adequate energy supply, brain cells can no longer police which particles pass through their membranes. Within minutes, the neurons swell like overfilled beach balls and begin to short-circuit, accrue damage and die. Hours later, the tightly woven tissue lining blood vessels in the brain, the blood-brain barrier, also begins to malfunction, and the entire organ takes on water.
    "For over 60 years, people thought this accumulation of fluid was coming from the blood" leaking through the compromised blood-brain barrier, said study lead author Dr. Humberto Mestre, a clinician and current doctoral student at the University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC) Center for Translational Neuromedicine. But cerebral edema sets in long before the blood-brain barrier breaks down, leading Mestre and his colleagues to wonder whether the water actually comes from somewhere else.
    "No one had looked at these alternate fluid sources," Mestre said. Cerebrospinal fluid, which makes up about 10% of the fluid found in the mammalian cranial cavity, stood out as a promising candidate, he added.
    In the brain, cerebrospinal fluid flows through the glymphatic system, a network of tubing that winds along paths carved out by the organ's veins and arteries, according to a 2015 report in the journal Neurochemical Research. The fluid flows just outside the blood vessels, held in place by a "doughnut-shaped tunnel" of cells. (Picture a length of wire, representing an artery, resting inside a rubber hose, which acts like the outer tunnel filled with fluid.) As muscles along the arteries contract, the nearby cerebrospinal fluid gets pushed along its route and picks up metabolic wastes on the way. Besides taking out the trash, the glymphatic system may also help distribute fats, sugars and other important compounds within the brain.
    Although crucial in a healthy brain, in the aftermath of a stroke, the glymphatic system goes haywire and drives the onset of edema, Mestre and his co-authors found. "The cerebrospinal fluid is actually the primary driver of swelling right after the stroke happens," Mestre said.

    Staying the flood

    The role of cerebrospinal fluid in stroke eluded scientists for decades, in part, because no technology existed to observe a stroke unfolding in real time, Mestre said.
    He and his co-authors combined several techniques to observe the change in fluid flow in mice experiencing stroke. The team peered into the animals' brains using both MRI and a two-photon microscope, which uses light and fluorescent chemicals to image living tissues. "We can basically image what the cerebrospinal fluid is doing while the stroke is happening," Mestre said. By infusing the fluid with radioactive particles, the researchers could also determine how the flow rate changed over time.
    Using these methods, the team determined that edema takes hold of the mouse brain "as early as 3 minutes" after stroke, long before the blood-brain barrier began to leak, Mestre said. As brain cells short-circuit, they spew chemical messengers known as neurotransmitters and potassium into the space beyond their membranes. Nearby cells react to the influx of chemicals and, in turn, short-circuit. As these electrical storms sweep through the brain, muscles within the blood vessels contract and create a pocket of space between themselves and the surrounding glymphatic system. Salty cerebrospinal fluid gets sucked into the resulting vacuum, pulling water molecules along with it.
    "Wherever sodium is accumulating, water is going to follow it," Mestre said. The team could watch this game of follow-the-leader unfold in select areas of the brain but could not track water flow in the whole organ at once. Using a computer model to simulate the entire glymphatic network, however, they were able to predict how constricting blood vessels would drive the flow of water through a whole mouse brain after stroke.
    To connect the dots between mice and humans, the authors examined the brain tissue of patients who had died from ischemic stroke, wherein a blood clot blocks a blood vessel in the brain. The mouse and human brains accumulated fluid in the same regions, namely areas through which the glymphatic system runs and picks up wastes. Given the strong correlation between animals and people, "these findings could provide a conceptual basis for development of alternative treatment strategies," the authors noted.
    The team tested one of these strategies in mice by blocking a water channel on astrocytes, cells in the brain that help direct water through the glymphatic system. Mice that lacked the channel were slower to develop edema after stroke, suggesting that a similar treatment could show promise in human patients. In addition to blocking water flow, future treatments could potentially prevent edema by slowing the spread of stroke-induced electrical activity in the brain, the authors added. These electrical storms continue to barrage the brain for days after stroke, inciting edema each time they happen.
    The harmful waves of electrical activity seen in ischemic stroke also appear in concert with "virtually every [central nervous system] injury," Mestre said. The new study hints that the glymphatic system may play roles in conditions where there's bleeding in and around the brain, traumatic brain injury and even migraine, although such connections remain "purely speculative." Someday, the glymphatic system could offer doctors a whole new strategy for treating acute brain injuries, Mestre said.
      Originally published on Live Science.