Anika Volker

The glymphatic system, a cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) flow pathway facilitated by the meninges, helps to clear waste in the central nervous system (CNS). Recent work by Møllgård et al, reported a new, very thin and fragile, meningeal layer (1-3 cells thick) called the subarachnoid lymphatic-like membrane (SLYM). To further support this claim we performed cisterna magna particle injection, 2-photomicroscopy, and used an in-house particle tracking velocimetry called PredictiveTracker to visualize and characterize glymphatic flow in mice. We compared expected downstream CSF flow to CSF flow after a vessel hemorrhages. Our data provides evidence of a SLYM separating the subarachnoid space (SAS) into an outer and inner space. It also shows that rupture to the SLYM disrupts glymphatic flow. This discovery has health implications, as disruption to glymphatic flow can lead to toxic waste buildup, such as that seen in neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. More work needs to be done to characterize the SLYM and our lab hopes to further the understanding of the flow mechanism by measuring pressure differences between the outer and inner SAS.