It is an exciting adventure to make a discovery of unknown territory. I know the feeling.
Today’s technology allows us to make discoveries that were once unthinkable. An unexplored part of the brain is now ready to be mapped. Maybe I should use the word “drawn” instead of “mapped” because the river was there the whole time. We just didn’t know that it carries a liquid jet stream.
It was exciting for me as a teenager in the 1950s to discover an unexplored waterfall in one of the largest caves in our country, Marvel Cave in Branson, Missouri. I organized a caving expedition, hired a guide, and rented the cave for one night. We made our way past the giant cathedral, then got quite off the tourist trail. We crawl through a long, narrow tunnel filled with bats and fresh guano. Like ants in single file, we descended into a deep crack and floated in an air chamber to the other side of an underground lake. On the opposite shore, we saw various species of fish and translucent crawling life forms that had never seen daylight. Beyond this cold, dark and humid chamber, we discover the waterfall that still does not appear on the maps.
Neuroscientists have just explored something much more surprising and significant than an unknown waterfall in a giant cave. This landmark discovery is an unknown cleansing river within the brain. This current that runs through the nervous system is believed to be able to help cleanse the brain of toxic waste. The stream of fluid is capable of flushing down the drain the buildup of amyloid proteins associated with Alzheimer’s disease, Huntington’s disease, and other neurodegenerative disorders.
Scientists report several surprises in the study of the cranial cleaning system. One surprise includes spurts of cerebrospinal fluid ducts that course through the brain. Never before had scientists known that the brain was capable of flushing larger particles down the drain. Another surprise was learning that almost 40% of the fluid is recycled back to the brain.
The researchers, based at the University of Rochester (UR), the University of Oslo and Stony Brook University, describe this new system in the journal Science Translational Medicine. The study adds to the evidence that star-shaped cells called astrocytes play a major role in maintaining the proper functioning of the nervous system.
The largest reserve of energy in the brain is found in astrocytes. Research shows that the energy demand of activated astrocytes is high and very complex, causing increased consumption of glucose and oxygen in the blood. A glucose-oxygen mismatch provides strong support for the hypothesis of causing and aggravating oxidative stress.
These star-shaped astrocyte cells support neurons in the central nervous system, brain, and spinal cord that are linked to the excitatory neurotransmission system. The protection of astrocyte cells is of the utmost importance for human health.
Astrocytes under oxidative stress are known to switch from nurturers to killers, causing dysfunction of motor and mental neurons leading to Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, Huntington’s, ALS, and other neurodegenerative diseases.
The ability to overcome oxidative stress is monumental in human health, slowing down the aging process and maintaining mental clarity. The evidence is conclusive that trehalose sugar strengthens and protects the cell membrane from oxidative stress. Other Smart Sugars, especially mannose, modulate the immune system and help to overcome oxidative stress.
