45 min
Brain Detoxification—Part 1—The Role of the Blood Brain Barrier and The Glymphatic System The Alzheimer’s Solution Revolution Podcast
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- Health & Fitness
Summary
Hello and welcome to episode #16!
Today I’ll be describing an elemental aspect in maintaining a healthy brain as you age and preventing the cognitive decline that is associated with unhealthy aging and the risk for Alzheimer’s disease as you age—brain detoxification.
Because brain detoxification mechanisms are a very complex review, I will provide it in three parts–this episode and the next two.
Now, most people that are oriented toward health and wellness strategies know that a good detox for their body is one of the more healthful things one can do for their wellbeing.
But what about your brain?
Well, there are also several key brain detoxification mechanisms that are often overlooked or not emphasized enough.
And while detoxification programs and kits are extremely popular, the majority of detox programs I know of barely mention or address the challenge of brain detoxification.
Now because brain detoxification mechanisms are a very detailed review, I will provide it in three parts–this episode and the next two.
This episode will focus on the importance of a system of brain detoxification pathways and mechanisms that are vital to brain health and in risk reduction for late-onset Alzheimer's disease (LOAD)—the blood brain barrier (BBB) and the glymphatic system.
The glymphatic system is now considered to contribute to approximately 60% of the brain’s beta-amyloid drainage to the cervical lymph nodes and further downstream.
Both the glymphatic system and BBB are interconnected AND interdependent systems in the clearance of metabolic waste and neurotoxic proteins that are associated with Alzheimer's disease (AD)—beta-amyloid and tau protein—the two proteins that can accumulate and form the hallmark plaque and tangle lesions associated with AD in the brain.
The glymphatic system was first described in a paper published 2012 by Dr. Maiken Nedergaard and his team at the University of Rochester Medical Center.
Since then, many studies have investigated how it works and all the moving parts associated with the workings of the glymphatic system.
So, let’s go over what the glymphatic system is...it is often described as a lymph like network as it was though that there were not any conventional lymphatic vessels in the brain as there is in the body.
However, there is a lymphatic system that is integrated within the glymphatic system—the meningeal lymphatics which I describe in this episode.
In short, the glymphatic system is composed of several essential parts that include the meningeal lymphatics to make it a functional apparatus that is essential in brain detoxification.
To paint a picture in your mind of these related systems, the glymphatic system is where toxic protein and other waste material is collected and eventually drained into the blood stream, AND that waste is also exported into the meningeal lymphatic system and to the cervical lymphatic vessels and nodes which lie deep in the neck area.
So, there are two exit routs for the glymphatic waste fluid—the blood and the meningeal lymphatics.
Next week, I’ll describe what happens next to this metabolic waste once it is exported from the brain and into peripheral circulation.
The Blood Brain Barrier and the Neurovascular Unit
The glymphatic system is a glial or astrocyte-dependent waste clearance pathway in the brain, which also has a dynamic relationship with the both neurons and the cerebral vasculature.
In fact, astrocytes fall into a family of brain cells termed the glia or neuroglia. Thus, the g in glymphatic or glia-lymphatic.
Because there is a strong symbiosis between neurons and astrocytes, neuron
Summary
Hello and welcome to episode #16!
Today I’ll be describing an elemental aspect in maintaining a healthy brain as you age and preventing the cognitive decline that is associated with unhealthy aging and the risk for Alzheimer’s disease as you age—brain detoxification.
Because brain detoxification mechanisms are a very complex review, I will provide it in three parts–this episode and the next two.
Now, most people that are oriented toward health and wellness strategies know that a good detox for their body is one of the more healthful things one can do for their wellbeing.
But what about your brain?
Well, there are also several key brain detoxification mechanisms that are often overlooked or not emphasized enough.
And while detoxification programs and kits are extremely popular, the majority of detox programs I know of barely mention or address the challenge of brain detoxification.
Now because brain detoxification mechanisms are a very detailed review, I will provide it in three parts–this episode and the next two.
This episode will focus on the importance of a system of brain detoxification pathways and mechanisms that are vital to brain health and in risk reduction for late-onset Alzheimer's disease (LOAD)—the blood brain barrier (BBB) and the glymphatic system.
The glymphatic system is now considered to contribute to approximately 60% of the brain’s beta-amyloid drainage to the cervical lymph nodes and further downstream.
Both the glymphatic system and BBB are interconnected AND interdependent systems in the clearance of metabolic waste and neurotoxic proteins that are associated with Alzheimer's disease (AD)—beta-amyloid and tau protein—the two proteins that can accumulate and form the hallmark plaque and tangle lesions associated with AD in the brain.
The glymphatic system was first described in a paper published 2012 by Dr. Maiken Nedergaard and his team at the University of Rochester Medical Center.
Since then, many studies have investigated how it works and all the moving parts associated with the workings of the glymphatic system.
So, let’s go over what the glymphatic system is...it is often described as a lymph like network as it was though that there were not any conventional lymphatic vessels in the brain as there is in the body.
However, there is a lymphatic system that is integrated within the glymphatic system—the meningeal lymphatics which I describe in this episode.
In short, the glymphatic system is composed of several essential parts that include the meningeal lymphatics to make it a functional apparatus that is essential in brain detoxification.
To paint a picture in your mind of these related systems, the glymphatic system is where toxic protein and other waste material is collected and eventually drained into the blood stream, AND that waste is also exported into the meningeal lymphatic system and to the cervical lymphatic vessels and nodes which lie deep in the neck area.
So, there are two exit routs for the glymphatic waste fluid—the blood and the meningeal lymphatics.
Next week, I’ll describe what happens next to this metabolic waste once it is exported from the brain and into peripheral circulation.
The Blood Brain Barrier and the Neurovascular Unit
The glymphatic system is a glial or astrocyte-dependent waste clearance pathway in the brain, which also has a dynamic relationship with the both neurons and the cerebral vasculature.
In fact, astrocytes fall into a family of brain cells termed the glia or neuroglia. Thus, the g in glymphatic or glia-lymphatic.
Because there is a strong symbiosis between neurons and astrocytes, neuron
45 min