Paravascular spaces: entry to or exit from the brain?

NEW FINDINGS: What is the topic of this review? In this symposium report, we review the glymphatic clearance from the brain. What advances does it highlight? Evaluation of the evidence indicates that cerebrospinal fluid flows along paravascular spaces at the surface of the brain. However, bulk flow along penetrating arteries into the brain, followed by exit along veins, requires further confirmation. Clearance from the brain, based on mixing, might provide an alternative explanation for experimental findings. ABSTRACT: The interstitial fluid of the brain provides the environment for proper neuronal function. Maintenance of the volume and composition of interstitial fluid requires regulation of the influx and removal of water, ions, nutritive and waste products. The recently described glymphatic pathway might contribute to some of these functions. It is proposed that cerebrospinal fluid enters the brain via paravascular spaces along arteries, mixes with interstitial fluid, and leaves the brain via paravascular spaces along veins. In this symposium report, we review the glymphatic concept, its concerns, and alternative views on interstitial fluid–cerebrospinal fluid exchange.