Some investigational Alzheimer’s disease therapies are more effective when paired with a treatment geared toward improving drainage of fluid and debris from the brain, according to a study in mice.
Experimental Alzheimer’s drugs have shown little success in slowing declines in memory and thinking, leaving scientists searching for explanations.
The new findings in the journal
Nature, however, suggest that the brain’s drainage system known as the meningeal lymphatics plays a pivotal but underappreciated role in neurodegenerative disease, and that repairing faulty drains could be a key to unlocking the potential of certain Alzheimer’s therapies.
“The lymphatic system is how the garbage is cleaned out of the brain. If it’s not working, everything gets gummed up.
Date Time
Draining brain’s debris enhances Alzheimer’s therapies in mice
Experimental Alzheimer’s drugs have shown little success in slowing declines in memory and thinking, leaving scientists searching for explanations. But new research in mice has shown that some investigational Alzheimer’s therapies are more effective when paired with a treatment geared toward improving drainage of fluid – and debris – from the brain, according to a study led by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.
The findings, published April 28 in the journal Nature, suggest that the brain’s drainage system – known as the meningeal lymphatics – plays a pivotal but underappreciated role in neurodegenerative disease, and that repairing faulty drains could be a key to unlocking the potential of certain Alzheimer’s therapies.
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