Nasal Congestion, Breathing and the Glymphatic System
The nose is one of the drainage points for the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and it plays an important role in regulating the lymphatic system in the brain and meninges, called the glymphatic system.
In IBT we always try to think in terms of systems and consider the bigger picture. So when thinking about nasal congestion and brain health we might consider what is happening to flow and drainage of cerebrospinal fluid and lymphatic circulation in the brain and meninges(Weller, Galea et al. 2010).
Figure from Weller et al Weller, R. O., I. Galea, R. O. Carare and A. Minagar (2010). “Pathophysiology of the lymphatic drainage of the central nervous system: Implications for pathogenesis and therapy of multiple sclerosis.” Pathophysiology : the official journal of the International Society for Pathophysiology 17 4: 295-306.
Impairment of lymph drainage in the brain impacts on the clearance of metabolites and other waste products from the brain. This can contribute to neuroinflammatory and neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimers, Multiple Sclerosis and Parkinsons disease and other conditions such as post-concussion syndrome or some neuropsychiatric disorders (Salehpour, Khademi et al. 2022).
One of the main markers of poor glymphatic flow is Aβ, a biomarker associated with build up of neurotoxins. Breathing is one of the major influences on flow of cerebrospinal fluid and some exciting new recent research has shown that breathing techniques such as resonance frequency breathing that influence circulation dynamics help to clear Aβ in younger as well as older people (Min, Rouanet et al. 2023).
References
Min, J., J. Rouanet, A. C. Martini, K. Nashiro, H. J. Yoo, S. Porat, C. Cho, J. Wan, S. W. Cole, E. Head, D. A. Nation, J. F. Thayer and M. Mather (2023). “Modulating heart rate oscillation affects plasma amyloid beta and tau levels in younger and older adults.” Scientific Reports 13(1): 3967.
Salehpour, F., M. Khademi, D. E. Bragin and J. O. DiDuro (2022). “Photobiomodulation therapy and the glymphatic system: promising applications for augmenting the brain lymphatic drainage system.” International Journal of Molecular Sciences 23(6): 2975.
Weller, R. O., I. Galea, R. O. Carare and A. Minagar (2010). “Pathophysiology of the lymphatic drainage of the central nervous system: Implications for pathogenesis and therapy of multiple sclerosis.” Pathophysiology : the official journal of the International Society for Pathophysiology 17 4: 295-306.
