r/science • u/Potential_Being_7226 PhD | Psychology | Neuroscience • 13d ago

Neuroscience Boosting brain’s waste removal system improves memory in old mice | Researchers found that rejuvenating the lymphatic vessels in the brain enhanced recognition memory and restored synaptic function through an interleukin-6 (IL-6) pathway.

https://medicine.washu.edu/news/boosting-brains-waste-removal-system-improves-memory-in-old-mice/
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u/untss 13d ago edited 13d ago

this is probably the mechanism behind that correlation they found between sleeping pill usage and neurodegenerative disease

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u/titianwasp 13d ago

What was the correlation? Sleeping pills good or bad?

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u/untss 13d ago

bad. my guess being because they disrupt restorative sleep and lymphatic activity (see for example alcohol and cannabis, which both help people fall asleep but the sleep quality is compromised), though that's not proven to my knowledge. alternate hypothesis would be that certain sleeping pills are toxic in some way.

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u/Buzumab 13d ago

For reference this refers to emerging research on anticholergenics and dementia, specifically (or most commonly) diphenhydramine, as it is a common anti-allergy and sleep aid on-the-shelf medication sold under the brand name Benadryl and many generics.

A recent Harvard Health article discussing the topic: https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/common-anticholinergic-drugs-like-benadryl-linked-to-increased-dementia-risk-20150128812