Griffith University researchers announced on July 2 that the brain's waste clearance system is impaired in people living with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS), which can lead to symptoms such as brain fog.
The study demonstrates for the first time the impact of ME/CFS on glymphatic function, a system responsible for clearing metabolic waste from the brain. This process is mostly active during sleep and disengaged while a person is awake.
Lead author Dr. Kiran Thapaliya from Griffith's National Centre for Neuroimmunology and Emerging Diseases said, "This study is the first to demonstrate impaired glymphatic function in ME/CFS using MRI, providing a mechanistic explanation for the inflammatory changes reported by other Australian and international teams." Thapaliya also said, "This suggests that dysfunction in the brain's natural cleaning system may be a key driver of this condition."
Professor Sonya Marshall-Gradisnik, Director of NCNED, said not only did reduced glymphatic function cause brain fog, but it also caused sleep disturbance.
The findings offer new insight into how disrupted waste clearance could contribute to neuroinflammation and symptoms experienced by people with ME/CFS.
