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Background: Infusion testing is an established method for assessing CSF resistance in patients with idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus (iNPH). To what extent the increased resistance is related to the glymphatic system is an open question. Here we introduce a computational model that includes the glymphatic system and enables us to determine the importance of (1) brain geometry, (2) intracranial pressure, and (3) physiological parameters on the outcome of and response to an infusion test. Methods: We implemented a seven-compartment multiple network porous medium model with subject specific geometries from MR images using the finite element library FEniCS. The model consists of the arterial, capillary and venous blood vessels, their corresponding perivascular spaces, and the extracellular space (ECS). Both subject specific brain geometries and subject specific infusion tests were used in the modeling of both healthy adults and iNPH patients. Furthermore, we performed a systematic study of the effect of variations in model parameters. Results: Both the iNPH group and the control group reached a similar steady state solution when subject specific geometries under identical boundary conditions was used in simulation. The difference in terms of average fluid pressure and velocity between the iNPH and control groups, was found to be less than 6% during all stages of infusion in all compartments. With subject specific boundary conditions, the largest computed difference was a 75% greater fluid speed in the arterial perivascular space (PVS) in the iNPH group compared to the control group. Changes to material parameters changed fluid speeds by several orders of magnitude in some scenarios. A considerable amount of the CSF pass through the glymphatic pathway in our models during infusion, i.e., 28% and 38% in the healthy and iNPH patients, respectively. Conclusions: Using computational models, we have found the relative importance of subject specific geometries to be less important than individual differences in resistance as measured with infusion tests and model parameters such as permeability, in determining the computed pressure and flow during infusion. Model parameters are uncertain, but certain variations have large impact on the simulation results. The computations resulted in a considerable amount of the infused volume passing through the brain either through the perivascular spaces or the extracellular space. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

White matter hyperintensity (WMH) represents a critical global medical concern linked to cognitive decline and dementia, yet its underlying mechanisms remain poorly understood. Here, humans are directly demonstrated that high WMH burden correlates with delayed drainage of meningeal lymphatic vessels (mLVs) and glymphatic pathway. Additionally, a longitudinal cohort study reveals that glymphatic dysfunction predicts WMH progression. Next, in a rat model of WMH, the presence of impaired lymphangiogenesis and glymphatic drainage is confirmed, followed by elevated microglial activation and white matter demyelination. Notably, enhancing meningeal lymphangiogenesis through adeno‐associated virus delivery of vascular endothelial growth factor‐C (VEGF‐C) mitigates microglial gliosis and white matter demyelination. Conversely, blocking the growth of mLVs with a VEGF‐C trap strategy exacerbates these changes. The findings highlight the role of mLVs and glymphatic pathway dysfunction in aggravating brain white matter injury, providing a potential novel strategy for WMH prevention and treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The clearance of brain interstitial fluid (ISF) is important in maintaining brain homeostasis. ISF clearance impairment leads to toxic material accumulation in the brain, and ischemic stroke could impair ISF clearance. The present study investigates ISF clearance under normal and ischemic conditions. The carboxylate-modified FluoSpheres beads (0.04 μm in diameter) were injected into the striatum. Sham or transient middle cerebral artery occlusion surgeries were performed on the mice. The brain sections were immunostained with cell markers, and bead distribution at various time points was examined with a confocal microscope. Primary mouse neuronal cultures were incubated with the beads to explore in vitro endocytosis. Two physiological routes for ISF clearance were identified. The main one was to the lateral ventricle (LV) through the cleft between the striatum and the corpus callosum (CC)/external capsule (EC), where some beads were captured by the ependymal macrophages and choroid plexus. An alternative and minor route was to the subarachnoid space through the CC/EC and the cortex, where some of the beads were endocytosed by neurons. After ischemic stroke, a significant decrease in the main route and an increase in the minor route were observed. Additionally, microglia/macrophages engulfed the beads in the infarction. In conclusion, we report that the physiological clearance of ISF and beads mainly passes through the cleft between the CC/EC and striatum into the LV, or alternatively through the cortex into the subarachnoid space. Stroke delays the main route but enhances the minor route, and microglia/macrophages engulf the beads in the infarction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The choroid plexus (CP) is a structure in the brain ventricles that produces the main part of the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). It is covered with specialized cells which show epithelial characteristics and are the site of the blood–CSF barrier. These cells form a contiguous cell sheet with ventricle-lining ependymal cells which are known to express aquaporin-4 (AQP4). In contrast, CP epithelial cells express aquaporin-1 (AQP1) apically. We investigated the expression patterns of aquaporins in the CP-ependyma transition from human body donors using immunofluorescence and electron microscopy. Ependymal cells and subependymal astrocytes at the base of the CP showed a particularly high AQP4 immunoreactivity. Astrocytic processes formed a dense meshwork or glial plate around the blood vessels entering the CP. Interestingly, some of these astrocytic processes were in direct contact with the CP stroma, which contains fenestrated blood vessels, separated only by a basal lamina. Electron microscopy confirmed the continuity of the subastrocytic basal lamina with the CP epithelium. We also probed for components of the AQP4 anchoring dystrophin–dystroglycan complex. Immunolabeling for dystrophin and AQP4 showed an overlapping staining pattern in the glial plate but not in previously reported AQP4-positive CP epithelial cells. In contrast, dystroglycan expression was associated with laminin staining in the glial plate and the CP epithelium. This suggests different mechanisms for AQP4 anchoring in the cell membrane. The high AQP4 density in the connecting glial plate might facilitate the transport of water in and out of the CP stroma and could possibly serve as a drainage and clearing pathway for metabolites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Cisternostomy has recently been reintroduced in the setting of severe TBI as an adjuvant surgical technique for decreasing brain edema and refractory intracranial hypertension. However, there is not much clarity regarding its role in head injury.Objective: Study the effect of cisternostomy on intracranial pressure, morbidity, and mortality in head-injured patients.Material and Methods: We conducted a single-center quasi-experimental study between November 2018 and November 2020. All candidates for decompressive hemicraniectomy (DHC) were divided into two groups: DHC-BC (undergoing basal cisternostomy with DHC) and DHC (undergoing DHC alone). We compared the impact of surgery on decreasing ICP and clinical outcomes in both groups.Results: During the study duration, we admitted 659 head-injury patients. Forty patients were included in the study (9 in the DHC-BC group and 31 in the DHC group). Both the groups were comparable in terms of baseline clinical characteristics such as age, gender, preoperative GCS, head injury severity, radiological features, and opening ICP. Patients in both groups had a decline in ICP following surgery. The mean closing pressure in the DHC-BC group (11.3 ± 5.9) was significantly higher than that in the DHC group (5.3 ± 3.5) (P = 0.003). The mean drop in ICP in the DHC-BC group was 14.4 ± 11.5 while that in the DHC group was 18.9 ± 12.4 (P = 0.359). The average total number of hours of ICP >20 mm Hg and intracranial hypertension index were higher for the DHC-BC group. The average number of days of stay in the ICU and hospital were lower for the DHC-BC group (7.0 ± 6.1 and 15.0 ± 20.2, respectively) compared to the DHC group (10.6 ± 9.3 and 19.3 ± 13.9, respectively). The 30-day mortality rate was higher for the DHC-BC group (66.6%) than the DHC group (32.2%). The mean GCS at discharge was better in the DHC-BC group (11.7 ± 2.9) compared to 10.5 ± 3.7 in the DHC group, while 11.1% of patients in the DHC-BC group had a favorable outcome (1-month GOS-E) compared to 9.7% patients in the DHC group.Conclusions: Our preliminary single-center study failed to show a clear benefit of adding basal cisternostomy to decompressive hemicraniectomy in patients with head injuries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The study aimed to explore hyperintense areas in the cisternal segments of the cranial nerves using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Methods: Seventy outpatients underwent thin-sliced, coronal constructive interference steady-state (CISS) sequence and sagittal T2-weighted MRI following conventional MRI examination. Results: With the coronal CISS sequence, hyperintense areas were located in the central parts of the olfactory bulbs in 65.7% of patients. For the intracranial optic nerve and optic chiasm, hyperintense areas were detected in 98.6% of the CISS sequences and 100% of the T2-weighted images. In the optic tract, hyperintense areas were detected in 51.4% of cases. In 35% of the patients who underwent the CISS sequence, the intracranial optic nerves were considerably compressed by the internal carotid and anterior cerebral arteries, with hyperintense areas similar to those in patients without vascular compression. Hyperintense areas of the cisternal segments of the oculomotor nerve and trigeminal root were identified in 52.9% and 87.1% of the patients, respectively. Conclusions: The hyperintense areas found within the cisternal segments of the cranial nerves delineated on the coronal CISS sequence and sagittal T2-weighted imaging may indicate the intracranial part of the glymphatic pathway through the cranial nerves. The cranial nerves may function as part of the glymphatic pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The present study aimed to explore the glymphatic pathway in the intraorbital optic nerve (ON) using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Methods: Following conventional MRI examination, a total of 89 outpatients underwent T2-weighted imaging in thin-sliced coronal and sagittal sections. Moreover, three injected cadaver heads were dissected. Results: In the cadaver specimens, differences in appearance between the central and peripheral parts of the ON were not observed. On the axial T2-weighted MRI performed in the initial examination, the central part of the intraorbital ONs was delineated as a well-demarcated, linear hyperintense area in 19% of patients. On the thin-sliced serial coronal images, the hyperintense areas were identified on both sides in 91% of patients. They were delineated as continuous hyperintense areas in the ONs with an inconsistent appearance even in the same nerve. In 12.4% of patients, the areas were divided into the upper and lower parts by a horizontal septum, while others showed variable morphologies, lacking a septum. On thin-sliced sagittal images, hyperintense areas were identified in 46% of patients. Conclusion: Hyperintense areas in the intraorbital ON detected on T2-weighted sequences may involve a glymphatic pathway with perivascular spaces of the ON and central retinal artery. These may be collapsed and difficult to identify on surgical and cadaver specimens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increased brain edema in head injury is due to shift of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) from cisterns at high pressure to brain parenchyma at low pressure. By opening basal cisterns and decreasing the increased cisternal pressure, basal cisternostomy (BC) results in reversal of CSF shift from parenchyma to cisterns, leading to decreased brain edema. Though the CSF-shift edema hypothesis is based on pressure difference between cisterns and brain parenchyma, the relationship of these pressures has not been studied. A prospective clinical study was conducted from November 2018 to March 2020 including adult patients with head injury who were candidates for standard decompressive hemicraniectomy (DHC). All patients had neurological assessment and head computed tomography preoperatively and postoperatively. All patients underwent BC with DHC. Postoperatively, parenchymal and cisternal pressures and neurological condition were monitored hourly for 72 hours. Nine (5 men, 4 women) patients with head injury (mean age, 45.7 years; range, 25–72 years) underwent DHC-BC. Median Glasgow Coma Scale score of patients at admission was 8 (range, 4–14), and median midline shift on computed tomography was 8 mm (range, 7–12 mm). There was a significant difference between opening (25.70 ± 10.48 mm Hg) and closing (11.30 ± 5.95 mm Hg) parenchymal pressures (t 9 = 3.963, P = 0.003). Immediate postoperative cisternal pressure was 1–11 mm Hg and was lower than immediate postoperative parenchymal pressure in all except 1 patient. Postoperatively, if cisternal pressure remained low, parenchymal pressure also decreased, and patients showed clinical improvement. Patients showing increased cisternal pressure showed increased parenchymal pressure and clinical worsening. Our study supports the CSF-shift edema hypothesis. Following DHC-BC, cisternal pressure is lowered to near-atmospheric pressure, and its relationship to parenchymal pressure predicts the future course of patients by reversal or re-reversal of CSF shift. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Infusion testing is a common procedure to determine whether shunting will be beneficial in patients with normal pressure hydrocephalus. The method has a well-developed theoretical foundation and corresponding mathematical models that describe the CSF circulation from the choroid plexus to the arachnoid granulations. Here, we investigate to what extent the proposed glymphatic or paravascular pathway (or similar pathways) modifies the results of the traditional mathematical models. Methods: We used a compartment model to estimate pressure in the subarachnoid space and the paravascular spaces. For the arachnoid granulations, the cribriform plate and the glymphatic circulation, resistances were calculated and used to estimate pressure and flow before and during an infusion test. Finally, different variations to the model were tested to evaluate the sensitivity of selected parameters. Results: At baseline intracranial pressure (ICP), we found a very small paravascular flow directed into the subarachnoid space, while 60% of the fluid left through the arachnoid granulations and 40% left through the cribriform plate. However, during the infusion, 80% of the fluid left through the arachnoid granulations, 20% through the cribriform plate and flow in the PVS was stagnant. Resistance through the glymphatic system was computed to be 2.73 mmHg/(mL/min), considerably lower than other fluid pathways, giving non-realistic ICP during infusion if combined with a lymphatic drainage route. Conclusions: The relative distribution of CSF flow to different clearance pathways depends on ICP, with the arachnoid granulations as the main contributor to outflow. As such, ICP increase is an important factor that should be addressed when determining the pathways of injected substances in the subarachnoid space. Our results suggest that the glymphatic resistance is too high to allow for pressure driven flow by arterial pulsations and at the same time too small to allow for a direct drainage route from PVS to cervical lymphatics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Amyloid-β (Aβ) solution injections into an aqueous mobile phase moving through narrow bore stainless-steel capillary tubing results in adsorption of at least 99% Aβ within the tubing or injection valve. However, if flow is stopped for a period of 5-10 minutes, then started, wall desorption yields Aβ-containing molecules in the new effluent. The amount of desorbed Aβ-containing effluent depends on flow rate, period of flow cessation, and number of successive Aβ injections into the same tube without cleaning between injections. Unexpected multiple chromatographic peaks in these experiments seem to imply "separation" of released, previously adsorbed Aβ-containing products in the empty capillary tubing. These preliminary experiments raise questions about possible errors in Alzheimer's disease (AD) spinal tap analyses, which use stainless-steel needles of approximately the same inner diameter and encounter similar flow rates as those in our capillary experiments. Microliter syringes and HPLC connectors also contain stainless-steel tubing that have similar inner diameter dimensions and similar flow rates. The capillary system involved in these experiments has previously been proposed as a model system for studying the effects of shear on Aβ within the brain because it offers a research environment that provides highly restrictive flow through very small dimension channels. A suggestion is made for the use of this system in exploratory anti-amyloid drug studies in which both the drug and Aβ are injected in the same solution so that both drug and Aβ are subjected to the same shear environment. Reduction in adsorbed Aβ is suggested as an indicator of effective anti-Aβ drugs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Purpose Brain interstitial fluid plays an important role in the excretion of metabolic waste products into the cerebrospinal fluid through perivascular spaces (PVS). To investigate the normal function of PVS in healthy elderly individuals, we assessed the relationship between PVS and white matter hyperintensity (WMH) on MRI in two locations. Methods This study included 296 healthy individuals aged ≥60 years without a history of brain disease who underwent brain MRI. The severities of PVS and WMH were assessed on the location-specific classification in the basal ganglia (BG-PVS) or centrum semiovale (CSO-PVS), and in the deep or periventricular WMH. Results The severity of BG-PVS was significantly associated with the severities of deep and periventricular WMHs. In contrast, the severity of CSO-PVS was inversely associated with the severity of deep WMH and was not significantly associated with that of periventricular WMH. The multivariate odds ratios of severe deep WMH for BG-PVS and CSO-PVS were 1.18 (95% CIs: 1.01–1.38) and 0.68 (0.54–0.86), respectively, compared with none deep WMH. Conclusions CSO-PVS looks different from BG-PVS in their relationship with deep WMHs. Therefore, CSO-PVS might play an essential role in the normal interstitial fluid drainage system, not as a biomarker of arteriosclerosis. Graphical abstract Unlabelled Image Highlights • CSO-PVS was observed in 94% of healthy elderly individuals without deep WMH. • Conversely, elderlies with invisible or sparse CSO-PVS had high grade of deep WMH. • Elderlies with deep WMH had significantly fewer MRI-visible CSO-PVS. • Elderlies with visible BG-PV had high grade of deep WMH and periventricular WMH. • CSO-PVS looks different from BG-PVS in the relationship with deep WMH. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The belief that the vertebrate brain functions normally without classical lymphatic drainage vessels has been held for many decades. On the contrary, new findings show that functional lymphatic drainage does exist in the brain. The brain lymphatic drainage system is composed of basement membrane-based perivascular pathway, a brain-wide glymphatic pathway, and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) drainage routes including sinus-associated meningeal lymphatic vessels and olfactory/cervical lymphatic routes. The brain lymphatic systems function physiological as a route of drainage for interstitial fluid (ISF) from brain parenchyma to nearby lymph nodes. Brain lymphatic drainage helps maintain water and ion balance of the ISF, waste clearance, and reabsorption of macromolecular solutes. A second physiological function includes communication with the immune system modulating immune surveillance and responses of the brain. These physiological functions are influenced by aging, genetic phenotypes, sleep-wake cycle, and body posture. The impairment and dysfunction of the brain lymphatic system has crucial roles in age-related changes of brain function and the pathogenesis of neurovascular, neurodegenerative, and neuroinflammatory diseases, as well as brain injury and tumors. In this review, we summarize the key component elements (regions, cells, and water transporters) of the brain lymphatic system and their regulators as potential therapeutic targets in the treatment of neurologic diseases and their resulting complications. Finally, we highlight the clinical importance of ependymal route-based targeted gene therapy and intranasal drug administration in the brain by taking advantage of the unique role played by brain lymphatic pathways in the regulation of CSF flow and ISF/CSF exchange. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Post-stroke dementia (PSD) is one of the major consequences after stroke. Chronic cerebral hypoperfusion (CCH) can induce vascular cognitive impairment and potentiate amyloid pathology. We investigated how CCH contributes to the development of PSD after stroke in the context of neuroinflammation and amyloid pathology.Methods: We designed a unique animal model for PSD. We performed middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) surgery in rats mimicking acute territorial infarct, which was followed by bilateral common carotid artery occlusion (BCCAo) surgery mimicking CCH. We performed behavioral tests including neurologic function test and water maze task and histological investigations including neuroinflammation, neuronal cell death, amyloid pathology, and aquaporin 4 (AQP4) distribution.Results: Spatial memory was synergistically impaired when BCCAo was superimposed on MCAO. Neuroinflammation with astroglial or microglial activation and amyloid pathology were enhanced in the ipsilateral cortex, thalamus, and hippocampus when BCCAo was superimposed on MCAO. Glymphatic pathway-related AQP4 distribution changed from perivascular to parenchymal pattern.Conclusions: Our experimental results suggest that CCH may contribute to the development of PSD by interfering with amyloid clearance through the glymphatic pathway and concomitant neuroinflammation. Therapeutic strategy to clear brain metabolic waste through the glymphatic pathway may be a promising approach to prevent PSD after stroke. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The overall premise of this review is that cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) is transported within a dedicated peri-vascular network facilitating metabolic waste clearance from the central nervous system while we sleep. The anatomical profile of the network is complex and has been defined as a peri-arterial CSF influx pathway and peri-venous clearance routes, which are functionally coupled by interstitial bulk flow supported by astrocytic aquaporin 4 water channels. The role of the newly discovered system in the brain is equivalent to the lymphatic system present in other body organs and has been termed the “glymphatic pathway” or “(g)lymphatics” because of its dependence on glial cells. We will discuss and review the general anatomy and physiology of CSF from the perspective of the glymphatic pathway, a discovery which has greatly improved our understanding of key factors that control removal of metabolic waste products from the central nervous system in health and disease and identifies an additional purpose for sleep. A brief historical and factual description of CSF production and transport will precede the ensuing discussion of the glymphatic system along with a discussion of its clinical implications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sleep deprivation (SD) is a common condition associated with a variety of nervous system diseases, and has a negative impact on emotional and cognitive function. Continuous theta burst stimulation (cTBS) is known to improve cognition and emotion function in normal situations as well as in various types of dysfunction, but the mechanism remains unknown. We used two-photon in vivo imaging to explore the effect of cTBS on glymphatic pathway clearance in normal and SD C57BL/6J mice. Aquaporin-4 (AQP4) polarization was detected by immunofluorescence. Anxiety-like behaviors was measured using open field tests. We found that SD reduced influx efficiency along the peri-vascular space (PVS), disturbed AQP4 polarization and induced anxiety-like behaviors. CTBS significantly attenuated the decrease in efficiency of solute clearance usually incurred with SD, restored the loss of AQP4 polarization and improved anxiety-like behavior in SD animals. Our results implied that cTBS had the potential to protect against neuronal dysfunction induced by sleep disorders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent evidence suggests an extensive exchange of fluid and solutes between the subarachnoid space and the brain interstitium, involving preferential pathways along blood vessels. We studied the anatomical relations between brain vasculature, cerebrospinal fluid compartments, and paravascular spaces in male Wistar rats. A fluorescent tracer was infused into the cisterna magna, without affecting intracranial pressure. Tracer distribution was analyzed using a 3D imaging cryomicrotome, confocal microscopy, and correlative light and electron microscopy. We found a strong 3D colocalization of tracer with major arteries and veins in the subarachnoid space and large cisterns, attributed to relatively large subarachnoid space volumes around the vessels. Confocal imaging confirmed this colocalization and also revealed novel cisternal connections between the subarachnoid space and ventricles. Unlike the vessels in the subarachnoid space, penetrating arteries but not veins were surrounded by tracer. Correlative light and electron microscopy images indicated that this paravascular space was located outside of the endothelial layer in capillaries and just outside of the smooth muscle cells in arteries. In conclusion, the cerebrospinal fluid compartment, consisting of the subarachnoid space, cisterns, ventricles, and para-arteriolar spaces, forms a continuous and extensive network that surrounds and penetrates the rat brain, in which mixing may facilitate exchange between interstitial fluid and cerebrospinal fluid. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traumatic brain injury is associated with high morbidity and mortality. Since the introduction of decompressive craniectomy more than a century ago, no major surgical advancement has been introduced in this field in spite of neurosurgery having seen a sea change in general. Basal cisternostomy, introduced recently, is said to have great promise. In this regard, neurosurgeons need to understand the theory behind the recently introduced basal cisternostomy and whether it holds any merit or not. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cerebral small vessel diseases (CSVD) consist of a group of diseases with high heterogeneity induced by pathologies of intracranial small blood vessels. Endothelium dysfunction, blood brain barrier leakage and the inflammatory response are traditionally considered to participate in the pathogenesis of CSVD. However, these features cannot fully explain the complex syndrome and related neuroimaging characteristics. In recent years, the glymphatic pathway has been discovered to play a pivotal role in clearing perivascular fluid and metabolic solutes, which has provided novel insights into neurological disorders. Researchers have also explored the potential role of perivascular clearance dysfunction in CSVD. In this review, we presented a brief overview of CSVD and the glymphatic pathway. In addition, we elucidated CSVD pathogenesis from the perspective of glymphatic failure, including basic animal models and clinical neuroimaging markers. Finally, we proposed forthcoming clinical applications targeting the glymphatic pathway, hoping to provide novel ideas on promising therapies and preventions of CSVD. • CSVD is a group of clinical syndromes with high heterogeneity and mechanistically poorly understood. • Glymphatic pathway plays a vital role in perivascular drainage of metabolites and fluid in the brain. • Evidence from clinical and basic research has showed impaired glymphatic function in CSVD. • Interventions to recover glymphatic function may shed light on CSVD treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Many studies have indicated that a history of depression increases the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease (AD); however, the potential pathogenestic mechanism by which depression functions as a high risk factor for AD remains unknown. Recently, a 'cerebral lymphatic system' referred to as 'glymphatic system' has been demonstrated to be responsible for neuronal extracellular waste protein clearance via a paravascular pathway. However, the function of glymphatic pathway has not been determined in depressive disorders. Methods: The present study used an animal model of chronic unpredictable mild stress (CUMS) to determine the function of glymphatic pathway by using fluorescence tracers. Immunohistochemistry was used to assess the accumulation of endogenous mouse and exogenous human amyloid beta 42 (Aβ42) in CUMS-treated mice with or without treatment with antidepressant fluoxetine. Findings: Glymphatic pathway circulation was impaired in mice treated with CUMS; moreover, glymphatic pathway dysfunction suppressed Aβ42 metabolism, because the accumulation of endogenous and exogenous Aβ42 was increased in the brains of the CUMS-treated mice. However, treatment with fluoxetine reversed these destructive effects of CUMS on glymphatic system. In anhedonic mice, the expression of the water channel aquaporin 4 (AQP4), a factor in glymphatic pathway dysfunction, was down-regulated in cortex and hippocampus. Conclusion: The dysfunction of glymphatic system suggested why a history of depression may be a strong risk factor for AD in anhedonic mice. We hope our study will contribute to an understanding of the risk mechanism of depressive disorder in the development of AD and the mechanisms of antidepressant therapies in AD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In the absence of a true lymphatic system in the brain parenchyma, alternative clearance pathways for excess fluid and waste products have been proposed. Suggested mechanisms for clearance implicate a role for brain interstitial and cerebrospinal fluids. However, the proposed direction of low, the anatomical structures involved, and the driving forces are controversial. Methods: To trace the distribution of interstitial and cerebrospinal fluid in the brain, and to identify the anatomical structures involved, we infused a mix of fluorescent tracers with different sizes into the cisterna magna or striatum of mouse brains. We subsequently performed confocal fluorescence imaging of horizontal brain sections and made 3D reconstructions of the mouse brain and vasculature. Results: We observed a distribution pattern of tracers from the parenchyma to the ventricular system, from where tracers mixed with the cerebrospinal fluid, reached the subarachnoid space, and left the brain via the cribriform plate and the nose. Tracers also entered paravascular spaces around arteries both after injection in the cisterna magna and striatum, but this appeared to be of minor importance. Conclusion: These data suggest a bulk low of interstitial fluid from the striatum towards the adjacent lateral ventricle. Tracers may enter arterial paravascular spaces from two sides, both through bulk low from the parenchyma and through mixing of CSF in the subarachnoid space. Disturbances in this transport pathway could influence the drainage of amyloid β and other waste products, which may be relevant for the pathophysiology of Alzheimer's disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a recent review article titled "A new look at cerebrospinal fluid circulation", Brinker et al. comprehensively described novel insights from molecular and cellular biology as well as neuroimaging research, which indicate that cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) physiology is much more complex than previously believed. The glymphatic system is a recently defined brain-wide paravascular pathway for CSF and interstitial fluid exchange that facilitates efficient clearance of interstitial solutes, including amyloid-ß, from the brain. Although further studies are needed to substantiate the functional significance of the glymphatic concept, one implication is that glymphatic pathway dysfunction may contribute to the deficient amyloid-ß clearance in Alzheimer's disease. In this paper, we review several lines of evidence suggesting that the glymphatic system may also have potential clinical relevance for the understanding of glaucoma. As a clinically acceptable MRI-based approach to evaluate glymphatic pathway function in humans has recently been developed, a unique opportunity now exists to investigate whether suppression of the glymphatic system contributes to the development of glaucoma. The observation of a dysfunctional glymphatic system in patients with glaucoma would provide support for the hypothesis recently proposed by our group that CSF circulatory dysfunction may play a contributory role in the pathogenesis of glaucomatous damage. This would suggest a new hypothesis for glaucoma, which, just like Alzheimer's disease, might be considered then as an imbalance between production and clearance of neurotoxins, including amyloid-ß. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Non-invasive mALPS-index was closely related to the classical detected glymphatic clearance function, providing an alternative method in researches on glymphatic system. • WMHs, lacunas, microbleeds and EPVS in basal ganglia were related to glymphatic clearance function. • Glymphatic clearance function was related to cognitive function in CSVD patients. Few studies have focused on the connection between glymphatic dysfunction and cerebral small vessel disease (CSVD), partially due to the lack of non-invasive methods to measure glymphatic function. We established modified index for diffusion tensor image analysis along the perivascular space (mALPS-index), which was calculated on diffusion tensor image (DTI), compared it with the classical detection of glymphatic clearance function calculated on Glymphatic MRI after intrathecal administration of gadolinium (study 1), and analyzed the relationship between CSVD imaging markers and mALPS-index in CSVD patients from the CIRCLE study (ClinicalTrials.gov ID: NCT03542734) (study 2). Among 39 patients included in study 1, mALPS-index were significantly related to glymphatic clearance function calculated on Glymphatic MRI (r = -0.772~-0.844, p < 0.001). A total of 330 CSVD patients were included in study 2. Severer periventricular and deep white matter hyperintensities (β = -0.332, p < 0.001; β = -0.293, p < 0.001), number of lacunas (β = -0.215, p < 0.001), number of microbleeds (β = -0.152, p = 0.005), and severer enlarged perivascular spaces in basal ganglia (β = -0.223, p < 0.001) were related to mALPS-index. Our results indicated that non-invasive mALPS-index might represent glymphatic clearance function, which could be applied in clinic in future. Glymphatic clearance function might play a role in the development of CSVD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Neurodegenerative disorders affect fifteen percent of the world's population and pose a significant financial burden to all nations. Cognitive impairment is the seventh leading cause of death throughout the globe. Given the enormous challenges to treat cognitive disorders, such as Alzheimer's disease, and the inability to markedly limit disease progression, circadian clock gene pathways offer an exciting strategy to address cognitive loss. Alterations in circadian clock genes can result in age-related motor deficits, affect treatment regimens with neurodegenerative disorders, and lead to the onset and progression of dementia. Interestingly, circadian pathways hold an intricate relationship with autophagy, the mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTOR), the silent mating type information regulation 2 homolog 1 (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) (SIRT1), mammalian forkhead transcription factors (FoxOs), and the trophic factor erythropoietin. Autophagy induction is necessary to maintain circadian rhythm homeostasis and limit cortical neurodegenerative disease, but requires a fine balance in biological activity to foster proper circadian clock gene regulation that is intimately dependent upon mTOR, SIRT1, FoxOs, and growth factor expression. Circadian rhythm mechanisms offer innovative prospects for the development of new avenues to comprehend the underlying mechanisms of cognitive loss and forge ahead with new therapeutics for dementia that can offer effective clinical treatments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]