The Glymphatic System
Perhaps once every 10 years, we discover something fundamentally new about the brain – as was the case with the glymphatic system in 2012. Previously, we thought that all waste products in the brain were removed via Cerebrospinal fluid However, that would be a crude and slow process, nowhere near as effective as the body’s lymphatic system. And the brain is otherwise particularly well-protected – so what’s going on here?
That may have been Maiken Nedergaard’s question; in any case, her answer is significant not only for basic research but possibly also medically: Tiny channels run parallel to the blood vessels, through which cerebrospinal fluid flows. Via special channel proteins in the astrocytes, it is distributed throughout the brain tissue between neurons, glial cells, and blood vessels. There, it absorbs toxins – including beta-amyloid, which we know primarily for its tragic role in Alzheimer’s disease – and ultimately flushes them out of the brain.
In cooperation with the Schering Foundation – and on the occasion of the awarding of the Schering Prize to Maiken Nedergaard for this fascinating discovery – we take a closer look at the glymphatic system.
Cerebrospinal fluid
liquor cerebrospinalis
A clear fluid that fills the ventricular system and bathes the brain and spinal cord in the subarachnoid space, protecting them from impact. Three to five times a day, 100 to 160 ml of fluid is renewed by the choroid plexus. Certain diseases are reflected in the composition of the cerebrospinal fluid.
