The glymphatic system in neurodegenerative diseases and brain tumors: mechanistic insights, biomarker advances, and therapeutic opportunities

Dec 13, 2025Acta neuropathologica communications

The brain’s waste clearance system in neurodegenerative diseases and brain tumors: how it works, new markers, and treatment possibilities

AI simplified

Abstract

Glymphatic dysfunction is associated with neurodegenerative diseases and brain tumors, leading to impaired waste clearance and immune modulation.

  • Impaired glymphatic function can lead to the accumulation of neurotoxic proteins such as amyloid-β, tau, and α-synuclein in Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases.
  • Factors contributing to glymphatic dysfunction include loss of polarization, reduced arterial pulsatility, genetic risks, and sleep disturbances.
  • Neuroimaging biomarkers like the diffusion tensor imaging along the perivascular space (DTI-ALPS) index and choroid plexus volume (CPV) can quantify glymphatic function and correlate with clinical decline.
  • In brain tumors, mechanical compression and lactate-driven acidosis obstruct perivascular fluid transport, leading to a reduced ALPS index that correlates with tumor grade and survival.
  • Emerging therapies aimed at restoring function include pharmacological interventions, non-invasive techniques, and surgical approaches.

AI simplified

Key numbers

40–60%
Reduction in CSF–ISF exchange efficiency in AD
Efficiency of CSF–ISF exchange is reduced due to dysfunction.
30%
Decrease in glymphatic clearance efficiency in PD
Efficiency is reduced due to obstruction by α-synuclein aggregates.
30–50%
Increase in glymphatic clearance efficiency from pharmacological modulation
Pharmacological interventions can enhance glymphatic clearance.

Full Text

We can’t show the full text here under this license. Use the link below to read it at the source.

what lands in your inbox each week:

  • 📚7 fresh studies
  • 📝plain-language summaries
  • direct links to original studies
  • 🏅top journal indicators
  • 📅weekly delivery
  • 🧘‍♂️always free