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[00:00.43] A rare look inside the human brain might help to explain how it clears away waste.

[00:09.99] Scientists say the failure to clear away such waste can lead to Alzheimer’s disease and other brain disorders.

[00:21.95] Brain cells use a lot of nutrients.

[00:26.73] This means they produce a lot of waste.

[00:31.24] Scientists believe the brain has special structures to take out this “cellular trash,” especially during sleep.

[00:42.93] They have reported observing this process happening in mice.

[00:48.78] But they had no clear evidence that this happens in humans.

[00:55.42] Recently published research appears to have identified a system, or network, of very small waste-clearing channels in the brains of living humans.

[01:10.56] The researchers used a special kind of imaging technology to study the network.

[01:18.26] One of the researchers was Dr. Juan Piantino of Oregon Health & Science University.

[01:28.62] Piantino said the new research was important evidence.

[01:33.93] “We needed this piece to say this happens in humans, too,” he said.

[01:40.31] His team recently published its findings in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

[01:49.34] The brain is very active during sleep.

[01:54.12] During sleeping hours, the brain appears to clean itself.

[02:00.23] That idea has gotten the attention of researchers.

[02:05.28] Losing a good night’s sleep can cause people’s thinking to be unclear.

[02:12.45] But a continuous lack of sleep is believed to increase the risk of the brain disorder dementia.

[02:22.27] How does the brain clean itself?

[02:25.99] Over 12 years ago, scientists at the University of Rochester first reported finding a network they named the “glymphatic system.” Fluid from the brain, called cerebrospinal fluid, travels through channels surrounding blood vessels to carry waste out of the brain.