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MINI REVIEW article

Front. Neurosci.

Sec. Translational Neuroscience

Volume 19 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fnins.2025.1705690

Glymphatic System and Mild Traumatic Brain Injury: A Mini Review

Provisionally accepted
Pihla  MiettinenPihla Miettinen1*Begum  UtzBegum Utz1Ivette  Bañuelos-CabreraIvette Bañuelos-Cabrera1Eugene  GolanovEugene Golanov2Ziv  LenznerZiv Lenzner3Leonardo  Lara-ValderrábanoLeonardo Lara-Valderrábano1Lasse  VälimaaLasse Välimaa1Adrian  HarelAdrian Harel1
  • 1Medicortex Finland Oyj, Turku, Finland
  • 2Houston Methodist Hospital, Houston, United States
  • 3Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design, Jerusalem, Israel

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

Since the discovery of the glymphatic system in 2012, research on this brain-wide fluid exchange pathway has focused on understanding its role in different neurological diseases. Mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) is a prevalent, yet often undiagnosed, condition that increases the risk of developing debilitating neurodegenerative diseases. mTBI may lead to impaired glymphatic system function and, therefore, accumulation of metabolic waste in the brain. In this review, we summarize 24 studies (10 rodent, 13 human, 1 both) published during 2013-2025, reporting post-mTBI changes in the glymphatic system. According to pre-clinical models, potential post-mTBI drivers of glymphatic dysfunction include depolarization of aquaporin 4 water channels and sleep deprivation. In studies on humans, evidence is contradictory; some studies show reduced post-mTBI glymphatic activity, while others report increased activity. However, these studies used different patient populations, which were likely exposed to different mTBI types and post-injury time frames. Furthermore, studies on humans used non-invasive imaging techniques, which only indirectly measure glymphatic activity. Taken together, these inconsistencies point to major gaps in the field, highlighting the need for standardized injury classification and post-injury time frames, and more direct measurements of glymphatic activity in humans. Notably, sleep deprivation, post-concussive symptoms, and cognitive impairment have often been linked to post-injury glymphatic dysfunction. Nevertheless, to better understand mTBI implications on glymphatic system functioning, further research is needed. Such research could help develop novel diagnostics or treatment strategies for mTBI and potentially mitigate the long-term risks of developing neurodegenerative disorders.

Keywords: aquaporin 4 (AQP-4) water channels, concussion, enlarged perivascular spaces (ePVS), Glymphatic system, Sleep, diffusion tensor imaging along the perivascular space (DTI-ALPS), Mild Traumatic Brain Injury (mTBI)

Received: 15 Sep 2025; Accepted: 03 Oct 2025.

Copyright: © 2025 Miettinen, Utz, Bañuelos-Cabrera, Golanov, Lenzner, Lara-Valderrábano, Välimaa and Harel. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

* Correspondence: Pihla Miettinen, pihla.miettinen@medicortex.fi

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