Why does long-term hyperglycemia increase the risk of neurodegenerative diseases involving tau protein aggregates?

💡 Explanation

Hyperglycemia impairs the glymphatic system function, a brain-wide waste clearance pathway, because elevated glucose levels disrupt the osmotic balance and fluid flow essential for efficient aggregate removal. Therefore, toxic protein aggregates persist longer, rather than being cleared effectively by microglial phagocytosis or prevented by BBB integrity.

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