A dysfunction in the brain’s waste-clearing system may be implicated in the development of several neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer’s and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), according to research from the University of Barcelona (UB).
The study, published this month in the journal Acta Neuropathologica Communications, demonstrates that patients with Alzheimer’s, ALS and frontotemporal lobar degeneration show a greater accumulation of amyloid bodies, or “waste deposits,” small structures that function as receptacles for waste in key areas of the brain’s cleaning system.
To reach these conclusions, researchers analyzed brain tissue samples from 185 donors, both healthy individuals and those affected by these diseases, the Efe news agency reported Tuesday.
The results show that these waste receptacles accumulate repeatedly in areas linked to the brain’s drainage pathways and are significantly more numerous in patients with these diseases.
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According to the researchers, this suggests that the glymphatic system, the microscopic network responsible for clearing the central nervous system, suffers from chronic insufficiency, gradually losing its capacity to eliminate metabolic waste over an extended period.
The study, co-led by professor Jordi Vilaplana (UB) and researcher Laura Molina-Porcel (Hospital Clínic-IDIBAPS), highlighted the importance of investigating new strategies to preserve or restore the function of the glymphatic system. If its function could be improved, the accumulation of metabolic waste could be reduced and disease progression, slowed.
The next step for the research team will be to conduct experimental studies, both in animal and human models, and to develop tools that would allow for the detection of these waste deposits through non-invasive imaging techniques.
The researchers also stressed that “it will be important to extend this type of analysis to other neurodegenerative diseases.”
