In the fight to prevent and better understand Alzheimer’s disease, a research team is investigating the link between mental “waste” and cognitive decline.
Scientists have long theorized about a network of pathways in the brain that are believed to clear metabolic proteins that would otherwise build up and potentially lead to Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia. But they had never definitively revealed this network in people - until now.
It turns out, our brains are not so different from our homes in that they need a good cleaning from time to time to stay in tip-top shape.
For the study, published this week, scientists used special imaging to observe people undergoing brain surgery. They found that their brains glymphatic systems created efficient cleaning channels to help move waste out of the brain, particularly during sleep. While this was previously suspected to exist, it wasn’t confirmed until this paper was published.
“Nobody has shown it before now,” senior author Juan Piantino said in a statement. “I was always skeptical about it myself, and there are still a lot of skeptics out there who still don’t believe it. That’s what makes this finding so remarkable.”
The information tracks with other studies that note chronic sleep deprivation as a risk factor for dementia, and provides further evidence for the importance of lifestyle interventions when it comes to preventing cognitive decline.