Outlining a Blueprint for Treating Neurodegenerative Diseases

Neurodegenerative diseases cause immense suffering not only to patients themselves, but also to their families and loved ones. Yet progress toward effective treatments has been slow. Despite continued efforts by many researchers, the academic community has long struggled even to pinpoint the precise causes of these disorders.

Medicine evolves through countless trials and errors, and progress in treatment demands tireless research. The journey toward a real cure is often arduous and lengthy.

Amid this challenge, researchers at the Institute for Basic Science (IBS) have produced promising results that could serve as a stepping stone toward new therapeutic strategies for neurodegenerative diseases — an encouraging development.

Even more striking is that the proposed treatment blueprint is surprisingly simple. Instead of invasive surgeries or drug regimens, the approach involves merely applying physical stimulation. If this can be developed into a practical therapy, it could offer hope to many people.

At the heart of this research is Dr. JIN Hokyung, Senior Research Fellow at the IBS Center for Vascular Research, who has experience in both clinical and laboratory settings. He says he hopes to create a treatment for neurodegenerative diseases that anyone can easily use in the future. We spoke with him about his latest research, the center he belongs to, and his goals and insights going forward.

Q. Please introduce yourself.

Hello. I'm JIN Hokyung, a Senior Research Fellow at the IBS Center for Vascular Research. I originally worked as a resident in the Department of Otorhinolaryngology at Samsung Medical Center.

In 2019, during my residency, I came across a paper published in Nature by Director KOH Gou Young of the Center for Vascular Research, on meningeal lymphatic vessels in the central nervous system.

As this topic was closely related to my field, it naturally piqued my interest. I found it fascinating — and it ultimately influenced my decision to take a new path. In 2021, I entered the PhD program at the KAIST Graduate School of Medical Science and Engineering, which opened the door to a different trajectory. Since Director Koh also holds a professorship at KAIST, I was able to join his research team at IBS, where I conducted research that ultimately became the basis of my dissertation and led to this latest achievement.

Q. You’re often described as a “physician-scientist,” a role that has been gaining attention recently. What do you see as the advantages of having clinical experience in research.

In my view, scientists with clinical experience and those without each have their own strengths. For someone like me, who studied medicine first and then entered research, I may lack some of the foundational scientific training that full-time researchers have. However, I believe I have a stronger grasp of the real-world needs of the clinical field — what kinds of research are urgently needed and which problems doctors actually face.

On the other hand, basic scientists without clinical experience tend to excel at formulating hypotheses and conducting systematic experiments, and they possess strong foundational science skills. But they may not always be aware of the demands or challenges faced in clinical settings.

In the end, both paths have strengths and limitations, and it’s difficult for one person to fulfill both roles perfectly. That’s where physician-scientists play a vital role — by collaborating with skilled basic scientists, we can complement each other’s capabilities. When these two groups work together, the synergy can be enormous. I’ve personally learned a great deal through collaboration with the IBS research team.

Q. Please introduce the IBS Center for Vascular Research.

As the name suggests, our center focuses primarily on vascular research. The lymphatic vessels, which are the focus of our recent findings, are also a type of blood vessel.

In the past, when people thought of blood vessels, they typically imagined the ones that carry blood. However, research on lymphatic vessels in various organs has been actively pursued for some time. Since around 2019, there has been a growing interest in and acceleration of research specifically on lymphatic vessels in the head and neck region, as well as in the central nervous system.

Q. You mentioned that you’re an otolaryngology specialist. How has that background contributed to your research.

While neurological diseases such as dementia or stroke are primarily of interest to neurologists, there has also been a body of research in ENT (ear, nose, and throat) related to hearing loss and cognitive decline. People often assume that research is conducted strictly within clinical specialties, but in reality, many studies cross those disciplinary boundaries.

In this research as well, the therapeutic target for a brain disease — typically a neurology concern — was actually the lymphatic vessels in the neck, which fall under the domain of ENT.

In fact, biology is a highly interconnected system. If we limit our thinking to the artificial boundaries humans have drawn between medical fields, our perspective becomes too narrow. We must approach our subjects with an open and integrative mindset.

Q. Please describe the details of your recent research.

Last year, we published a paper in Nature showing that the lymphatic vessels located deep inside the neck play a crucial role in draining cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). We found that CSF is expelled from the brain through meningeal lymphatic vessels at the brain's base and lymphatic networks in the nasopharynx, ultimately reaching deep cervical lymph nodes. However, as these lymphatic vessels degenerate with aging, their ability to drain CSF declines.

In contrast, enhancing CSF drainage helps clear waste products from the brain, which could provide a critical milestone in research on neurodegenerative diseases.

That earlier study focused on lymphatic vessels located deep within the neck, which are difficult to access.

In our current study, we addressed that limitation by targeting lymphatic vessels closer to the outer surface of the neck. We discovered that applying precise physical stimulation to the skin—without surgery—can accelerate the clearance of CSF. This effectively overcomes the accessibility issues of the previous study.

Moreover, because this method involves non-invasive skin stimulation, it offers excellent accessibility and minimal side effects. We also expect that clinical validation of the method will be relatively straightforward in the future.

Q. Do you believe this method will be effective in treating neurodegenerative diseases such as dementia.

At this stage, we haven’t yet gathered enough scientific data to make a definitive conclusion, but we are optimistic about its potential.

Going forward, we plan to test whether the physical stimulation method we identified can help treat neurodegenerative diseases in animal models. We intend to first examine its effects on stroke.

Although stroke is not a classic neurodegenerative disease like dementia, Alzheimer’s, or Parkinson’s, there are many overlapping aspects. For example, stroke causes strong inflammatory responses due to blood clots, and many studies have shown that rapid clearance of waste products reduces long-term complications. There is also research suggesting that stroke prognosis improves when lymphatic function is enhanced.

The most important factor is ‘time’. Neurodegenerative diseases typically progress slowly, making it difficult to assess treatment effects in the short term. In contrast, stroke allows us to observe outcomes more immediately, making it a practical starting point.

Eventually, we do plan to evaluate the method in actual patients with neurodegenerative diseases. Since our technique is non-invasive—requiring no drugs or surgery—it will be relatively easy to test in human subjects.

Q. Why do you believe research on neurodegenerative diseases is so important.

I think the reason lies in the accelerating pace of population aging. As people get older, the incidence of neurodegenerative diseases and strokes increases significantly.

Moreover, these diseases are highly destructive. They can deeply damage the dignity of the patients themselves and inflict tremendous emotional and physical burdens on their families. Caregiving is demanding and exhausting, and the medical costs can be overwhelming. These issues impact not only individuals and households, but also society as a whole due to the growing number of patients.

As population aging intensifies, these problems are only likely to worsen. That’s why it’s critical to discover and apply effective treatments as soon as possible—to help alleviate the suffering that affects so many lives.

Q. It sounds like government and private sector support is also crucial.

Until now, global R&D investment in the biomedical field has largely focused on cancer. However, in recent years, there has been a noticeable shift toward neuroscience, and this trend is accelerating in the United States. We're starting to see similar movement here in Korea, with increasing visibility of investments in neuroscience.

Many researchers in Korea are already producing excellent results in this field. I hope that with continued support, our country can gain a competitive edge in neuroscience research as well.

I also believe it’s important to have a central institution in this field. For example, in cancer research, Korea has the National Cancer Center, where much of the country's cancer research is conducted.

Likewise, I hope to see the establishment of a dedicated national-level institution for neuroscience, which would help boost R&D efforts and enable Korea to keep pace with global developments in this critical area.

Q. Could you also share your personal goals for the future.

In the long term, my goal is to develop a method that allows anyone to easily prevent and treat stroke and neurodegenerative diseases using simple physical stimulation. While our work is currently at a basic research stage, I hope it will eventually lead to practical clinical applications. Through this, I want to provide meaningful help to those who are suffering greatly from these conditions..

Q. Lastly, is there anything else you'd like to share.

I would like to express my sincere gratitude to everyone who participated in the research, including Director KOH Gou Young, Senior Researcher YOON Jin-Hui, and Research Fellow HONG Seon Pyo.

I also want to thank my wife and daughter. They are the reason behind my research and efforts—to help provide them, and others, with a healthier life.