Document Type
Article
Publication Date
6-8-2026
Abstract
Parkinson's disease (PD) involves α-synuclein accumulation and progressive neurodegeneration. This review proposes that PD reflects failure of sleep-circadian regulated brain clearance network integrating intracellular autophagy and extracellular glymphatic transport across neurons, glia, and blood-brain-barrier. Disruption of sleep-architecture and circadian-timing desynchronizes these processes, impairing protein clearance and promoting pathology. This framework positions sleep-circadian dysfunction as an upstream mechanism, suggesting that restoring sleep-circadian regulation may improve protein clearance and support disease-modifying strategies.
Recommended Citation
Zafar, Shamaila and Schneider, Jay S., "Sleep-Circadian Modulation of Autophagy and Glymphatic Function: Failure of Coordinated Brain Clearance in Parkinson's Disease" (2026). Department of Pathology, Anatomy, and Cell Biology Faculty Papers. Paper 505.
https://jdc.jefferson.edu/pacbfp/505
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
PubMed ID
42259829
Language
English
Comments
This article is the author’s final published version in npj Parkinson's Disease, Volume 12, Issue 1, 2026, Article number 224.
The published version is available at https://doi.org/10.1038/s41531-026-01427-3. Copyright © The Author(s) 2026.