Science & technology | The glymphatic system and dementia

Alzheimer’s researchers are studying the brain’s plumbing

Tweaking it may delay development of the disease

Apr 2nd 2022

IN MOST BODILY organs waste matter is cleared out by the lymphatic system. Unnecessary proteins, superfluous fluids and so on are carried away by special vessels to lymph nodes, where they are filtered out and destroyed. The more active the organ, the more of these vessels there are. The exception is the brain, which has none. It was thus thought until recently that brain cells broke down nearby waste products in situ.

This article appeared in the Science & technology section of the print edition under the headline “Brain drain”