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(02/19/2026) VA New Mexico researchers and their colleagues discovered a way to flush unwanted proteins and waste products from the brain, highlighting a potential new treatment for Parkinson’s disease. By administering breathing pulses of carbon dioxide, the researchers were able to stimulate a process that happens during deep sleep called glymphatic clearance, in which the body pumps cerebrospinal fluid across the brain to clear out potentially toxic waste products. Glymphatic clearance is suppressed in people with Parkinson’s disease, which leads to a build-up of toxins in the brain. Three intermittent, 10-minute sessions of the CO₂ treatment led to increased levels of waste proteins in the blood of both patients with Parkinson’s disease and healthy controls, indicating these proteins had been cleared from the brain. The researchers believe this technique represents a promising new approach to improve brain health in people with Parkinson’s disease. ( NPJ Parkinson’s Disease, Nov. 21, 2025)