According to neuroscientists at the University of Washington, cerebrospinal fluid may play an important role in normal brain development and neurodevelopmental disorders. results research It was published in the journal Nature Communications.
Cerebrospinal fluid protects the brain from damage, provides nutrients and removes waste products. Violation of normal fluid flow is associated with neurological diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease and hydrocephalus.
Researchers have developed an X-ray imaging technique using gold nanoparticles that allows them to observe the circulatory pattern of the brain in rodents. The authors found that cerebrospinal fluid enters areas critical for normal brain development and function. They also noticed that circulation appeared abnormal in young mice with hydrocephalus.
“Impaired cerebrospinal fluid dynamics may be responsible for the changes in brain development that we see in children with hydrocephalus and other brain development disorders. The causes for many of them are unknown to us, but they are likely related to changes in the areas of the brain where cerebrospinal fluid circulates. The truth is, fluid output in children is the same as in adults. “We will need to find out in future studies what exactly went wrong with the output,” the scientists said.