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Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, is the most common form of motor neuron disease. People with ALS progressively lose the ability to initiate and control muscle movements, including the ability to speak, swallow and breathe.

There is no known cure. But recently, we studied mice and identified a new target in the fight against this devastating disease: the brain’s waste clearance system.

Neurodegenerative diseases – including Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s and multiple sclerosis – share many similarities, even though their clinical symptoms and disease progression may look very different. The incidence of these diseases increase with age. They are progressive and relentless, and result in gradual loss of brain tissue. We also see waste proteins accumulate in the brain.

Our new research looked at how the glymphatic system, which removes waste from the brain, could prevent ALS.

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Originally posted by QuirtEvans:
I've heard before that the channels for clearance of waste narrow when you're awake and widen when you are asleep. A nap serves the same short-term function of flushing the system, I've read.