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Glymphatic failure as a final common pathway to dementia
Nedergaard M, Goldman SA.. Science (New York, N.Y.), 2020-10-01
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
Sleep is evolutionarily conserved across all species, and impaired sleep is a common trait of the diseased brain. Sleep quality decreases as we age, and disruption of the regular sleep architecture is a frequent antecedent to the onset of dementia in neurodegenerative diseases. The glymphatic system, which clears the brain of protein waste products, is mostly active during sleep. Yet the glymphatic system degrades with age, suggesting a causal relationship between sleep disturbance and symptomatic progression in the neurodegenerative dementias. The ties that bind sleep, aging, glymphatic clearance, and protein aggregation have shed new light on the pathogenesis of a broad range of neurodegenerative diseases, for which glymphatic failure may constitute a therapeutically targetable final common pathway.
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
APA 7th
Nedergaard, M., & Goldman, S. A. (2020). Glymphatic failure as a final common pathway to dementia. Science (New York, N.Y.). https://doi.org/10.1126/science.abb8739
Vancouver
Nedergaard M, Goldman SA. Glymphatic failure as a final common pathway to dementia. Science (New York, N.Y.). 2020. doi:10.1126/science.abb8739. PMID: 33004510.
BibTeX
@article{nedergaard2020-33004510,
author = {Nedergaard, M. and Goldman, S. A.},
title = {{Glymphatic failure as a final common pathway to dementia}},
journal = {Science (New York, N.Y.)},
year = {2020},
doi = {10.1126/science.abb8739},
pmid = {33004510},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1126/science.abb8739}
}
Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
Key findings
- Sleep is evolutionarily conserved across all species, and impaired sleep is a common trait of the diseased brain.
- Sleep quality decreases as we age, and disruption of the regular sleep architecture is a frequent antecedent to the onset of dementia in neurodegenerative diseases.
- The glymphatic system, which clears the brain of protein waste products, is mostly active during sleep.
- Yet the glymphatic system degrades with age, suggesting a causal relationship between sleep disturbance and symptomatic progression in the neurodegenerative dementias.
- The ties that bind sleep, aging, glymphatic clearance, and protein aggregation have shed new light on the pathogenesis of a broad range of neurodegenerative diseases, for which glymphatic failure may constitute a therapeutically targetable final common pathway.
Why it matters
This review proposes that failure of the brain's sleep-dependent waste-clearance system may be a shared pathway across many forms of dementia. It is a synthesized hypothesis backed largely by animal studies, not a proven causal chain in humans.
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Study details
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 59/100
Published in a top-tier journal. Scored zero for study design, sample size, effect reported, studied in people and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 10 / 10 | Tier 1 — top-tier general journal (Science (New York, N.Y.)) |
| Journal's citation record | 4 / 4 | Science: journal h-index 1,754 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 0 / 12 | No study design recorded — scores zero, not guessed (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Strength of evidence | 1 / 5 | Rated “low” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 2 / 5 | 2020 — within 10 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 0 / 4 | Participant count not stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 0 / 3 | Not stated whether this was studied in people — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 7 / 7 | Cited 1,131 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 5 / 5 | 141.4 citations a year over 8 year(s) since 2020 |
| Impact for its field and year | 6 / 6 | Cited 43.7× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 3 / 6 | Cited by 18 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 4 / 4 | Cited 709 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 3 / 4 | Last-listed author Steven A. Goldman: h-index 88 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 1 / 3 | University of Copenhagen: institution h-index 1,378 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 1 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 2 institution(s) in 2 countries |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 33004510) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 59 / 100 | — |
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Read the original
- DOI: 10.1126/science.abb8739
- PubMed: 33004510
- Original source →
- Free full text: Research at the University of Copenhagen (University of Copenhagen) →
Full text: free to read — OpenAlex lists this copy as free to read: the link above (checked 6 Feb 1020).
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