Maiken Nedergaard’s findings reveal the glymphatic system activates during sleep to remove brain waste, highlighting sleep’s crucial role in brain health.

Summary: The 2024 HFSP Nakasone Award was awarded to Maiken Nedergaard for her discoveries about the glymphatic system, which improved the understanding of sleep and brain health. Her research showed that this system works predominantly during sleep to eliminate neurotoxic metabolites, offering new perspectives on the restorative functions of sleep and its protection against neurodegenerative diseases. This work not only addresses the mystery of sleep’s necessity but also opens avenues for therapeutic strategies in combating conditions like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, marking a significant step forward in neurological science.

Key Takeaways: 

  • The HFSP Nakasone Award, established in 2010, honors scientists for breakthroughs in life sciences, reflecting the vision of former Japanese Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone to foster global scientific collaboration through the International Human Frontier Science Program, initiated in 1987 by the G7 nations.
  • Maiken Nedergaard was awarded the 2024 HFSP Nakasone Award for her pioneering research on the glymphatic system, which has transformed our understanding of sleep’s role in brain health.
  • Maiken Nedergaard currently serves as the co-director of the Center for Translational Neuromedicine and holds professorships in neuroscience, neurosurgery, and neurology at the University of Rochester Medical Center, as well as in glial cell biology at the University of Copenhagen.

The International Human Frontier Science Program Organization (HFSPO) awarded the 2024 HFSP Nakasone Award to Maiken Nedergaard, MD, DMsc, for discovering the glympathic system and exploring its functions, insight that has improved the understanding of sleep and brain health.

Over the last decade, her research revealed the glymphatic system eliminates potential neurotoxic metabolites during sleep, which has pivoted the scientific community toward a very different understanding of brain health, particularly the restorative powers of sleep and its protective role against neurodegenerative diseases.

“Dr Nedergaard forever changed the way we understand sleep as an essential biological function that promotes brain health and plays a crucial role in preventing diseases, such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinsons, and Huntington Disease,” says HFSPO secretary-general Pavel Kabat in a release. “It is right and fitting that she is honored with the 2024 HFSP Nakasone Award.”

Nedergaard is co-director for the Center for Translational Neuromedicine and is a professor of neuroscience, neurosurgery, and neurology at the University of Rochester Medical Center in Rochester, New York. She is also the co-director of the Center for Translational Neuromedicine and professor of glial cell biology at the University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.

Maiken Nedergaard’s Research

Photo 158656269 © Jakub Krechowicz | Dreamstime.com

One of her most intriguing insights regarding the glymphatic system is that it is primarily active during sleep and shuts down shortly after awakening. This observation may explain the century-old question of why we need to sleep: We sleep because we need to clear the brain of metabolic waste products that accumulate during wakefulness. 

The loss of a normal sleep architecture accelerates the progression of neurodegenerative diseases by insufficient clearance of Amyloid-b, Tau, a-synuclein, huntingtin (Htt) and TDP-43 peptide/proteins. 

This concept has received considerable attention because dementing diseases, such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and Huntington diseases, as well as frontotemporal dementia, are often preceded by years of sleep disturbances. Studies from her lab have also shown that the glymphatic system deteriorates while we age and can be impaired by disrupted sleep, hypertension, and traumatic brain injury. 

“In a world where seniors over the age of 65, constitute the fastest growing segment of our population, Nedergaard has provided transformative insights and ushered in a new era of therapeutic exploration that is essential for today’s patients,” according to a release from HFSPO.

The HFSP Nakasone Award

The HFSP Nakasone Award was established in 2010 to honor scientists who have made key breakthroughs in fields at the forefront of the life sciences. It recognizes the vision of Japan’s former Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone, who envisioned and created the International Human Frontier Science Program beginning with a charter by the global leaders of the G7 nations in 1987.

For full details on Nedergaard’s discoveries, standing, and citations, see HFSP’s full description here: 2024 Nakasone Award.

Photo caption: Maiken Nedergaard wins 2024 HFSP Nakasone Award

Photo credit: Maiken Nedergaard