Clarification of a mechanism of removing metabolic waste in the brain by interstitial fluid flow

2023 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 20H04504
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B)
• Allocation Type: Single-year Grants
• Section: 一般
• Review Section: Basic Section 90110:Biomedical engineering-related
• Research Institution: Kyoto Institute of Technology (2023); Osaka University (2020-2022)
• Principal Investigator: Naoki Takeishi 京都工芸繊維大学, 機械工学系, 准教授 (30787669)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): 横山 直人 東京電機大学, 工学部, 教授 (80512730) ; 田中 壽 大阪大学, 医学系研究科, 教授 (40294087)
• Project Period (FY): 2020-04-01 – 2024-03-31
• Keywords: 脈波 / 脳脊髄液 / 脳動脈 / 流体力学 / 計算バイオメカニクス

Outline of Final Research Achievements

To clarify the dynamics regarding the removal of metabolic waste in the brain by interstitial fluid flow and constructing a mechanical concept that explains the progression mechanism of brain diseases, we conducted research on mathematical models and numerical simulations based on experimental measurement. Our numerical results showed the net CSF flow velocity collapses on the analytical solution derived from the lubrication theory in analogy with Taylor’s swimming sheet. Next, we performed numerical simulations of the the arterial pulsation in whole-scale cerebral arteries, constructed based on the medical image data, using one-dimensional mode, and successfully estimated aforementioned arterial pulsation in microvessels. These numerical results will serve as fundamental knowledge for modeling arterial-pulsation dependent CSF flow, and provide insight into a mechanism of removing metabolic waste in the brain by interstitial fluid flow.

Free Research Field

医工学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

本研究により，脈波動態から脳内老廃物除去機構と密接に関わる脳脊髄液流れの流速を推定できることを示した．これは，脈波動態が脳内老廃物除去において生理学的重要な役割を担うことを示唆する．これらの知見は，脳内老廃物に関する除去機能や異常な蓄積の推定を目的とした，新たらしい脳内脈波計測技術の構築や脳機能計測機器の開発戦略に繋がる．