A study from the University of Oulu and Oulu University Hospital in Finland, published in Nature Communications, suggests the brain's natural waste clearance system can be boosted while people are awake. The brain's clearance mechanisms are normally most active during sleep, when blood pressure drops and slow pulsations in the brain increase the flow of cerebrospinal fluid. The researchers tested a vasomechanical treatment that combined blood pressure-lowering medication with whole-body vibration targeting Piezo1 channels in blood vessels.
The trial involved 29 healthy adult volunteers and used multimodal MRI, physiological measurements and blood-based biomarkers originating in the brain. The medication strengthened the slow brain pulsations that drive fluid flow, an effect resembling changes seen during sleep, while the vibration activates channels that help regulate blood vessel function. After treatment, blood levels of brain-derived proteins, including beta-amyloid 40 and 42 and GFAP, increased, and MRI showed changes in fluid flow and content, particularly around the brain's large veins.
Lead researcher Johanna Tuunanen said the results suggest harmful proteins were cleared from the brain more efficiently than usual. Professor Vesa Kiviniemi said the team obtained evidence for the first time that brain-derived proteins passed directly into the large veins at the back of the brain, and that proteins can be removed while still soluble, before they form solid deposits. He sees this as opening a new avenue of research into early diagnosis, prevention and treatment of dementia-causing diseases.
The findings come from healthy volunteers, so they do not show that the treatment improves memory or treats dementia. The researchers plan follow-up studies on what the approach might offer patients with early-stage memory impairment.
Learn more: https://www.technologynetworks.com/neuroscience/news/scientists-boosted-the-brains-waste-clearance-system-in-awake-volunteers-418057.
