The Glymphatic System and Neurosurgery: A Comprehensive Narrative Review of Current Concepts and Future Directions

The glymphatic system is a recently defined perivascular waste elimination pathway responsible for the efficient clearance of metabolic waste and neurotoxic proteins in the central nervous system. This system facilitates the entry of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) into the brain parenchyma via arterial perivascular spaces and its interaction with interstitial fluid (ISF) via glial cell-associated aquaporin-4 (AQP4) channels. It functions particularly actively during sleep. Impairment of glymphatic flow contributes to nerve cell damage and neuroinflammation in various pathologies such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, traumatic brain injury, subarachnoid hemorrhage, and neurological tumors. In neurosurgical practice, surgical positioning, anesthesia regimen, and intracranial pressure changes play a decisive role in glymphatic function, and perioperative modulation of the system can affect postoperative recovery and cognitive outcomes. Today, non-invasive imaging techniques and molecular biological approaches are deepening our understanding of the functioning of the glymphatic system in humans, and this system is emerging as a potential target in the diagnosis and treatment of neurological diseases. This review comprehensively addresses the basic anatomical and physiological principles of the glymphatic system, its role in pathological processes, and its clinical significance in neurosurgical applications.