New non-invasive method boosts the brain’s natural waste drainage system

Scientists from the Institute for Basic Science (IBS) have discovered a non-invasive method to stimulate the natural waste exhaust system of the brain-a discovery that could open new ways to tackling age-related neurological disorders.

In een studie gepubliceerd in Nature, onderzoekers van het IBS Center for Vascular Research, geleid door directeur Koh Gou Young, samen met senior onderzoekers Jin Hokyung, Yoon Jin-HUI, en hoofdonderzoeker Hong Seon Pyo, heeft aangetoond dat precies de lymfatiek stimuleert en helpt de hersenen van de nek en het gezicht van de nek. Toxic waste through lymph vessels. This offers a new approach to cleaning up brain waste using safe, non-invasive mechanical stimulation, rather than trusting medicines or surgical interventions.

The human brain produces waste at a rapid pace compared to other organs, and efficient cleaning is essential for a healthy brain function. This clearance is mainly carried out by CSF, which removes harmful substances such as amyloid-β and tau proteins-key factors in Alzheimer’s and other neurodegenerative diseases. As we get older, however, this drainage slows down, which contributes to cognitive decline.

The IBS Center for Vascular Research has previously published historical studies in Nature (2019 and 2024) that showed that CSF drains to deep cervical lymph nodes via meningeal lymph vessels at the base of the skull and the nasopharyngeal lymphatic Plexus. They also showed that age-related degeneration of these lymph vessels influences CSF declaration. Moreover, the team that could be improved or suppressed CSF drainage by pharmacologically discovered by focusing on cervical lymph vessels outside the skull. Clinical applications, however, was limited because these lymph vessels are too deep in the neck for non-invasive access.

This research not only completed the map of cerebrospinal liquid discharge routes that remove brain waste, but also offered a new method to improve CSF drainage from outside the brain. We expect this to serve as a milestone for future investigation into neurodegenerative diseases, including dementia. “

Koh Gou Young, center director and accompanying author

Now, with the help of genetically modified mice and monkeys with fluorescent tracers, the researchers have mapped a new CSF off-watering route of the brain to superficial cervical lymph nodes-a network of lymph vessels in the face, nose and hard palat. In older animals, many of these routes had degenerated, apart from the barrels just below the facial skin, which retained full functionality despite aging.

“We have confirmed that lymph vessels connect to submandibular lymph nodes through different routes under the facial skin,” explains Jin Hokyung, senior researcher and co-first author. “Because of these connections, we can regulate the reduced cerebrospinal liquid discharge function that is seen in the event of aging and neurodegenerative diseases. Further research is needed to determine how this newly identified route can be applied to actual patients.”

The team recognizes this and developed a power-regulated mechanical stimulator-a handheld device that gently presses and caresses the skin in a controlled way. When applied to outdated mice, the device recovered the CSF declaration at youthful levels, which dramatically improves drainage without disturbing natural lymphatic contractions.

“I am happy that we have found a safer and more effective method to improve the removal of cerebrospinal liquids from outside the skull,” said Yoon Jin-Hui, co-first author and neurovascular physiologist. “We carry out follow-up studies to investigate how this newly identified drainage process is changed in various patients with brain diseases and how this new stimulation method can be used therapeutically.”

This technique could pave the way for portable or clinical devices that improve brain waste clearance in older adults or patients with neurological disorders. The team is now investigating how this drainage system behaves in diseases such as Alzheimer’s and whether mechanical stimulation could serve as a preventive or therapeutic tool.