At DrPerlmutter.com, Dr. David Perlmutter discusses new research that examines whether or not controlled increases in slightly elevated carbon dioxide levels can help clean the brain. Perlmutter writes:
A fascinating new study explores a topic I have written about many times before: the brain’s waste clearance system, known as the glymphatic system. As I have discussed in previous blogs, one of the most important reasons to get adequate deep sleep is that this is when the glymphatic system is most active. During deep, slow-wave sleep, cerebrospinal fluid washes through the brain and helps clear away metabolic debris, including proteins linked to neurodegenerative diseases. When sleep is disrupted, this clearance system does not function optimally, and waste products can accumulate.
The researchers introduced their work, writing:
A failure of the glymphatic pathway to clear brain byproducts implicated in neurodegeneration may contribute to the pathophysiology of Parkinson’s disease. The glymphatic pathway relies on vasomotion (rhythmic constriction and dilation of blood vessels) to drive cerebrospinal fluid through the interstitial space and clear waste from the brain. The current study demonstrated that intermittent hypercapnia, exposure to low levels of CO2 in ON-OFF cycles, elicited vasomotion-induced cerebrospinal fluid inflow in both healthy controls and individuals with Parkinson’s disease. The magnitude of the vasomotion-induced cerebrospinal fluid inflow in patients with Parkinson’s disease was reduced relative to healthy controls. However, intermittent hypercapnia, administered in three 10- minute sessions totaling approximately 30 minutes, increased the appearance of total α-synuclein, neurofilament light, glial fibrillary acidic protein, amyloid β1-42, amyloid β1-40, and phosphorylated tau 217 in the plasma of both healthy controls and individuals with Parkinson’s disease. This suggests that intermittent hypercapnia can be used to clear potentially toxic brain byproducts from the brain, highlighting its potential use as a disease modifying treatment.
Read more from Perlmutter here, and from the researchers here.
