
How the Brain Dumps Its Trash (2016) [video] - lobo_tuerto
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/nedergaard-how-the-brain-dumps-its-trash-video/
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amelius
Is this also how substances like caffeine get removed from the brain?

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pizza
No. Drug-breakdown processes have long been studied, whereas this is something
new. Drugs like caffeine are removed by metabolic enzymes in multiple stages -
e.g. here is a flowchart of caffeine's metabolic pathway
[https://s3.pgkb.org/pathway/PA165884757.png?versionId=XtszC7...](https://s3.pgkb.org/pathway/PA165884757.png?versionId=XtszC77mTsmQlNujJSxYCeTW_V2XnLNw)

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semi-extrinsic
But that's not how caffeine is removed from the brain - that entire flowchart
says "liver cell". Is one to understand that as the liver cleans blood of
caffeine, and this low-caffeine blood eventually goes up to the brain,
caffeine diffuses somehow (across the blood/brain barrier) into the
bloodstream and is then carried to the liver?

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pizza
Essentially, to my knowledge.. of relevance:

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Distribution_(pharmacology)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Distribution_\(pharmacology\))

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pharmacokinetics](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pharmacokinetics)

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ADME](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ADME)

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compartment_(pharmacokinetics)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compartment_\(pharmacokinetics\))

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clearance_(pharmacology)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clearance_\(pharmacology\))

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plasma_protein_binding](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plasma_protein_binding)

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tilt_error
She repeatedly says "the brain does not have a lymphatic system", but wasn't
that discovered to be incorrect prior to this video recording?

What am I missing?

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majkinetor
As a reference: [http://neurosciencenews.com/lymphatic-system-brain-
neurobiol...](http://neurosciencenews.com/lymphatic-system-brain-
neurobiology-2080/)

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saxonklaxon
Apart from getting enough sleep, any tips for how to support or enhance this
maintenance process?

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pizza
My very uninformed and probably incorrect hunch is to increase the amount of
water flow in your body before bed - i.e. drink a glass of water or two.
Counterbalance in the case of any frequent urges to wake up in the middle of
the night to urinate..

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teperpencoli
Anyone have a tl;dr?

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cheeko1234
Recent research shows that a major function for sleep may be to facilitate the
brain’s janitorial functions. Waste products and the detritus of daily
thinking can be removed during nightly sleep. This cleaning function allows
our brains to work properly and may account for why we generally feel brighter
and happier in the mornings.

Other organs and tissues are "cleaned" using the lymphatic system that almost
works as a sewage system for the body. The lymphatic system does not extend
into the brain. The so-called "blood-brain barrier" limits fluid channel
exchanges between the brain and the rest of the body to protect the brain.

The extracellular fluid in the brain – the wetness between the neurons – is
part of a system that essentially flushes the brain and removes waste. This
has been named the glymphatic system. It was previously thought that waste
products were metabolized and broken down by the neurons themselves and the
results of that breakdown carried away in capillaries and ultimately removed
by the kidneys.

[http://www.sleepdex.org/reboot.htm](http://www.sleepdex.org/reboot.htm)

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jon2k17
anyone have a transcribed version of this?

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DrScump
(March 2016, video)

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dang
Thanks! Added above.

