Aging and Exercise Effects of Dural Lymphatic Clearance in Healthy Human and Diabetic Brains

十分之一的65岁及以上的美国人（10%）患有阿尔茨海默病（AD）。2型糖尿病患者

One in 10 Americans age 65 and older (10%) has Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Among type-2 diabetes mellitus (DM) patients, nearly 70% develop AD with aging. Numerous studies support the association between DM and AD. AD is a slowly progressive, irreversible neurodegenerative disease with a long preclinical phase lasting up to 20 years; the prevalence of AD in DM increases in later years. DM is a known risk factor for vascular disease and is associated with diffuse sclerosis in microvasculature. The relationship between these two diseases and the mechanisms that link them together are not fully understood, but slower glymphatic clearance in DM patients is expected to play a significant role. The concept of glymphatics in the brain was pioneered by Negergaard, who identified a system by which soluble proteins and metabolites are eliminated from the central nervous system via cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and interstitial fluid (ISF) exchange in the paravascular space. Studies supporting its importance continue to be expanded upon and validated in ongoing research, primarily in rodents. Sleep and physical activity have been reported to accelerate glymphatic clearance. During sleep, a nearly 60% increase in clearance of rat brain wastes has been observed, caused by expansion and contraction of the extracellular space. Additional studies have shown that glymphatic clearance decreases with increasing age but can be increased transiently in aged mice by voluntary wheel running exercises. More recently, in humans, use of a gadolinium- based contrast agent (GBCA) via intrathecal injection allows for observation of glymphatic clearance as a tracer, albeit over a long period. However, this method is limited by its invasiveness, and by the unknown effect of the GBCA tracer on the in vivo time-course of glymphatic clearance. Physical exercise has been reported to improve clearance of brain Aβ in rats. Recent small animal studies show GBCA clearance in the interstitial space slowed by a factor of three in the hippocampus of DM rats. DM rats also showed decline in cognitive function compared to non-DM rats. Although these studies suggest that reduced glymphatic clearance is important for cognitive decline in DM rats, interpretation is limited by possible underlying changes between DM and non-DM rats, and effects of GBCA on CSF clearance. Using a novel, non-invasive, non-contrast MRI techniques we propose to study dural lymphatic clearance in DM and non-DM human brains, physical activity-induced clearance in parasagittal dura (PSD) and arachnoid granulations (AGs) fluid at meninges in humans. Our challenges include identification of PSD and AGs and measurement of subtle changes in dural lymphatic fluid clearance at meninges. To overcome these challenges, we will develop MR techniques to clarify i) the anatomy of PSD, AG, and superior sagittal sinus, ii) identify the detailed clearance pathway of dural lymphatic fluid; iii) obtain dural lymphatic fluid perfusion measures; iv) evaluate the age and exercise effects in healthy subjects; and v) compare the dural lymphatic perfusion of DM patients with age-, sex-matched healthy adults. We expect that dural lymphatic perfusion measures will be different and altered with exercise, as compared to healthy aging subjects.