The dominant risk factor
Every major neurodegenerative disease becomes more common with age. The Alzheimer’s Association notes that the vast majority of people with Alzheimer’s dementia are 65 or older, and WHO data show Parkinson’s prevalence rising steeply after 60. Genetics and lifestyle modify risk, but time is the common denominator.
Four age-related changes that interact
Protein homeostasis declines: cells become less able to fold, repair and recycle proteins, so misfolded proteins accumulate. Inflammation rises: a low-grade chronic inflammatory state sometimes called inflammaging develops in many tissues, including the brain. Vascular function changes: vessels stiffen, reactivity falls, and small-vessel disease becomes common. Sleep architecture changes: deep sleep shortens and fragments.
The 2020 Science review by Nedergaard and Goldman argues that these four strands converge on the brain’s clearance system. Less deep sleep and weaker vascular pumping mean slower fluid flow; slower flow means proteins linger and aggregate; aggregates provoke inflammation; inflammation further impairs flow. Breaking that loop is the therapeutic opportunity the authors highlight.
Why this is encouraging rather than fatalistic
If part of the age-related risk is mechanical, slower fluid movement through a system we can see and measure, then it may be addressable by means other than drugs that target one protein at a time. That possibility is what motivates engineering-led research into clearance, including ours.
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How to read this page
This is general educational background drawn from the sources below. It is not medical advice, and it is not evidence that any NeuroClearance system works. Where a finding comes from animals or from a small human study, the text says so.