探討心律對腦脊髓液滲透率的影響

Abstract

隨者人口高齡化，現在的患有神經退化性疾病的患者也隨之增多，為社會與家庭帶來沉重的負擔。而這些疾病的成因大多與腦中蛋白質沉積有關，像Tau、Aβ，或是α-syn等。已有研究證實大腦可以透過膠淋巴系統循環清除這些腦部生理代謝廢物，且已有許多研究正在探討該如何促進膠淋巴系統循環，包括藥物治療、侵入性、非侵入性刺激，以及自主運動等方式。 而目前尚未有非侵入性的低強度超音波刺激研究，故本研究觀察了不同心律是否會影響腦脊髓液擴散至腦中的速率，以了解心律對膠淋巴系統循環的影響，並探討小鼠進行低強度超音波刺激後，是否可以促進腦脊髓液流入。 我們在研究中證實了不同的心律將影響腦脊髓液流入腦實質的速度，當心律越快時，腦脊髓液流入的速度就越快；心律越慢時，流入的速度則越慢，而小鼠經過低強度超音波刺激後，其腦脊髓液流入的速度也得到了顯著性的改善。 藉由本研究證實，膠淋巴系統循環與心律兩者之間呈現正向關係。未來若將低強度超音波刺激應用於臨床，其刺激能量該如何界定，仍須抱持著謹慎的態度進行探討。總體而言，此次的研究結果表明，低強度超音波刺激具有治療神經退化性疾病的潛能。

Neurodegenerative diseases are increasingly prevalent with aging populations, largely due to the accumulation of misfolded proteins such as Tau, beta-amyloid, and alpha-synuclein. Recent studies have proven that the brain can clean metabolic waste through the glymphatic system. Various methods have been explored to enhance glymphatic circulation, However, there is no research on non-invasive low-intensity ultrasound stimulation. In this study, we observe whether different heart rate will affect the rate of CSF diffusion into the brain, and to explore whether low-intensity ultrasound stimulation of mice can promote CSF influx. Results showed that heart rate will affect the rate of CSF influx into brain; faster heart rates, the faster the CSF flows in, while slower heart rates have the opposite effect. After low-intensity ultrasound stimulation of mice, the speed of CSF influx was significantly improved. This study confirmed that there is a positive relationship between the lymphatic system circulation and heart rate. While these findings suggest the therapeutic potential of ultrasound in treating neurodegenerative diseases, further studies are required to determine its clinical applicability and safety. Overall, the results of this study suggest that low-intensity ultrasound stimulation has the potential to treat neurodegenerative diseases.