MELBOURNE, Dec. 2 (Xinhua) -- Scientists have developed a new, high-tech approach for treating ischemic stroke by enhancing removal of toxic waste products from the brain.
The "brain-draining lymphatics" are a set of drainage pathways that clear waste from the brain, with dysfunction of this "clean-up and drainage network" linked to Alzheimer's disease and other neurological and neurodegenerative diseases (NNDs), a media release of Australia's Monash University said Tuesday.
Scientists from Monash University and Yale School of Medicine in the United States are now developing non-invasive devices that help the neck's lymphatic vessels pump more effectively, improving the clearance of excess fluid and harmful waste from the brain right after stroke has occurred, at a time when every second counts, the media release said.
Advanced imaging in 140 participants has also revealed sex-based differences in brain lymphatic networks, with women showing less vessel coverage, potentially explaining their higher risk and poorer outcomes in conditions such as stroke and Alzheimer's disease, the release said.
"For decades, the brain was considered to be devoid of a lymphatic system," said Professor Natalie Trevaskis from the Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Monash lead of the project.
"It wasn't until 2015 that two separate teams discovered lymphatics in the brain's outer layer transport fluid and waste products from the brain to lymphatic vessels in the neck," Trevaskis said.
"We now know that this system plays a crucial role in keeping the brain healthy. By boosting this natural clean-up system, we hope to change how ischemic stroke and other NNDs are treated," she said.
The team aims to develop new therapeutic technologies which can aid more effective recovery and reduce ongoing disability than current clot-removal procedures, she added. ■
