South Korean scientists solve 250-year-old dementia-linked brain mystery

Researchers in South Korea say they have finally worked out how the brain flushes away waste – offering a clearer picture of the processes involved in dementia and other brain disorders that could one day be harnessed to treat them.The breakthrough, published this month in journal Cell, solved a puzzle that has stumped scientists since lymphatic vessels around the brain were first discovered roughly 250 years ago: how does our body clear away the waste?An international team led by Dr Koh Gou-young, a scientist at the Centre for Vascular Research within South Korea’s Institute for Basic Science, identified tiny openings in the tough membrane protecting the brain – dubbed arachnoid fenestrations – through which fluid drains into vessels around the nose and eyes before reaching lymph nodes in the neck.A doctor inspects a brain scan for signs of possible disease. dementia is characterised by a build-up of toxic brain waste. Photo: Getty ImagesThe human brain constantly produces metabolic waste, which needs to be cleared away by cerebrospinal fluid: the clear, watery liquid that acts as a natural shock absorber and nutrient bath for the brain and spinal cord.