12/16/2025
Another study points to a correlation between severity of autism and impaired fluid clearance in the brain! Earlier this year we reported on the findings of enlarged perivascular spaces (PVS) in the brains of children with autism. PVS are small, fluid-filled gaps surrounding the brain blood vessels.
They are the key parts of the glymphatic system, which manages removal of waste from the brain and exchange of fluids between the CSF and the brain.
The numbers of PVSs and their location in the brains of children with autism were correlated in this study to both to specific symptoms and to overall severity of autism. You can read our report here https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7330305354758578176
More recently, a study by Giulia Frigerio, Nivedita Agarwal and colleagues at IRCCS Scientific Institute and Università degli Studi di Padova, has expanded on those findings, further confirming the significance of enlarged PVS to the pathology and presentation of autism. The team examined 66 children with different symptom severity. Their key findings were that higher total PVS count in the white matter is associated with worse neurodevelopmental impairment and larger extra‑axial cerebrospinal fluid (eaCSF).
This work dovetails with broader work on dysfunction in autism, including altered number, morphology, and activation of and , and changes in their metabolic profiles, which in turn affect neuronal support, brain energy use, and waste handling.
It also suggests that improving the functioning of glial cells and brain blood vessels —by reducing inflammation, optimizing cellular metabolism, and enhancing waste clearance—could be very promising therapeutic targets for reducing the severity of autism and improving the quality of life of affected individuals.
Frigerio 2025. Perivascular Space Burden in Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder Correlates With Neurodevelopmental Severity https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12507148/
Could brain perivascular spaces provide the key to profound autism? https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7330305354758578176