Work

Multiphasic transport in the human cranial dura: how meningeal lymphatic vessels drive waste clearance from brain cerebrospinal fluid

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: Background: The discovery of meningeal lymphatic vessels (mLVs) has reshaped our understanding of brain waste clearance, positioning them as a very important clearance route. However, quantifying the precise hydrodynamics and solute transport mechanisms within the human dura mater \emph{in vivo }remains highly challenging due to the multiscale nature of cranial fluid dynamics and imaging resolution limits. Methods: We integrated patient-specific gMRI data with a novel anatomical segmentation of the cranial dura mater. By employing a hierarchy of inverse mathematical and micro-mechanical models, we estimated previously inaccessible physiological transport parameters. These baseline estimates subsequently informed a spatially distributed, double-porosity 3D computational model of the human dura to simulate the fluid dynamics of cranial clearance. Results: Our analysis suggests that purely diffusive macroscopic models fail to replicate in vivo tracer distribution. Conversely, a dual-porosity advection-diffusion framework successfully captures the tissue kinetics. The transport within the mLV compartment is characterized by highly convective clearance (with Pe>1), with macroscopic fluid velocities and effective lymphatic diffusion coefficients confirming an advective capacity sufficient to clear all the total albumin content in the Cerebrospinal Fluid (CSF). Conclusion: Solute clearance within the human cranial dura mater is a multiphasic, advection-dominated process. Rather than relying on passive Fickian diffusion, molecules are actively and rapidly cleared through the meningeal lymphatic network via convective mechanisms. This hierarchical modeling approach bridges clinical imaging and microscopic fluid dynamics, clarifying the primary mechanical drivers of brain homeostasis.

Source: Fluids and Barriers of the CNS

DOI: 10.1186/s12987-026-00861-y

Authors: Alberto Girelli, Andreas Solheim, Sofie Lysholm Lian, Tryggve Holck Storås, Kaja Nordengen, Kent-Andre Mardal

Institutions: Simula Research Laboratory, University of Oslo, Oslo University Hospital

Language: English

Topic: Cerebrospinal fluid and hydrocephalus

Subfield: Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience

Field: Neuroscience

Domain: Life Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $3,390