Experimental Alzheimer’s drugs have shown little success in slowing declines in memory and thinking, leaving scientists searching for explanations. But new research in mice has shown that some investigational Alzheimer’s therapies are more effective when paired with a treatment geared toward improving drainage of fluid — and debris — from the brain, according to a study led by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.
The findings, published April 28 in the journal Nature, suggest that the brain’s drainage system — known as the meningeal lymphatics — plays a pivotal but underappreciated role in neurodegenerative disease, and that repairing faulty drains could be a key to unlocking the potential of certain Alzheimer’s therapies.
“The lymphatics are a sink,” said co-senior author Jonathan Kipnis, PhD, the Alan A. and Edith L. Wolff Distinguished…
