Breathing in carbon dioxide could help clear brain waste
A new study suggests that short bursts of breathing in carbon dioxide (CO2) could help the brain flush out waste, both in healthy adults and people with Parkinson's disease.
Researchers say this approach might open up new ways to tackle neurodegenerative diseases.
How exactly did the researchers test this?
Scientists had 63 older adults—including 30 with Parkinson's—breathe CO2 for brief periods while getting MRI scans.
This boosted the flow of fluid that helps clear brain waste.
In another experiment, three 10-minute sessions of intermittent hypercapnia were associated with increased cerebrospinal fluid flow and the appearance of waste products in the blood.
CO2 pulses mimicked the brain's natural cleaning process during sleep
The CO2 pulses mimicked how our brains naturally clean themselves during sleep, but worked even when people were awake.
As researcher Sephira Ryman put it, this technique boosts the brain's waste removal system outside of sleep.
Next up: testing if activities like yoga or tai chi can do something similar.