Clearance of the glymphatic system and putative meningeal lymphatic vessels is impaired with increasing age, a new study has revealed. Ying Zhou and colleagues studied 25 patients undergoing MRI for various neurological conditions. They used gadolinium contrast agent in combination with T1-weighted imaging to assess the function of glymphatic pathways and with T2-fluid-attenuated inversion recovery imaging to simultaneously visualize the putative meningeal lymphatic vessels. Clearance of fluid in both pathways was impaired with ageing, most likely as a result of changes in cerebrovascular function with age. The associated reduction in waste clearance from the brain could have implications for neurodegenerative disease because toxic proteins, such as amyloid-β, are more likely to accumulate. The authors say their method will help to investigate the role of waste clearance in neurological disease.