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Review
. 2025 Jan 8;113(1):71-81.
doi: 10.1016/j.neuron.2024.09.017. Epub 2024 Oct 11.

Waste clearance shapes aging brain health

Li-Feng Jiang-Xie  1 , Antoine Drieu  2 , Jonathan Kipnis  3
Affiliations
Review

Waste clearance shapes aging brain health

Li-Feng Jiang-Xie et al. Neuron. .

Abstract

Brain health is intimately connected to fluid flow dynamics that cleanse the brain of potentially harmful waste material. This system is regulated by vascular dynamics, the maintenance of perivascular spaces, neural activity during sleep, and lymphatic drainage in the meningeal layers. However, aging can impinge on each of these layers of regulation, leading to impaired brain cleansing and the emergence of various age-associated neurological disorders, including Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases. Understanding the intricacies of fluid flow regulation in the brain and how this becomes altered with age could reveal new targets and therapeutic strategies to tackle age-associated neurological decline.

Keywords: brain borders; brain clearance; lymphatic; meningeal immunity; meningeal lymphatic; neuroimmunology; sleep.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of interests The authors have patents and provisional patent applications related to the work discussed in this review.

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