In September, Race Against Dementia Fellows, Dr Karissa Barthelson and Dr Jake Brooks visited the Diamond Light Source, one of the most advanced scientific facilities in the world.
The researchers both met in 2023 at the Race Against Dementia Summit and Forum, a week of in-person training sessions where researchers develop and harness the Formula 1 mindset at Silverstone in the UK.
It was at this event where they discovered a synergy in their respective research projects. They were both interested in the build-up of iron particles in the brain, and in particular Karissa wanted to know how it occurs in Sanfillipo syndrome – a rare genetic disease which causes childhood dementia.
A collaboration was born, leading to a successful proposal to Diamond Light Source to secure time at the national UK facility.
Diamond Light Source is the UK’s national synchrotron. A synchrotron uses giant magnets, radio waves, and something called an electron gun, to push electrons until they move at 99.9% of the speed of light. That’s almost 300,000 km per second! Electrons moving that quickly produce extremely bright light.
Inside the synchrotron, magnets direct this bright light into beams, called beamlines. Scientists have used these beamlines to study everything from fossils to jet engines to viruses and vaccines.
The synchrotron is around 10,000 times more powerful than a traditional microscope. Diamond is one of the most advanced scientific facilities in the world, and its pioneering capabilities are helping to keep the UK at the forefront of scientific research. During their trip, Jake and Karissa used the beamlines to carry out experiments to study iron deposits in the lysosomes of the brains of a zebrafish model of Sanfilippo syndrome.
Lysosomes are the cell’s recycling centres, responsible for breaking down waste and harmful materials. In Sanfilippo syndrome, these lysosomes become dysfunctional, Karissa and Jake were testing the idea that this would lead to a buildup of iron within the lysosomes.
By using the Diamond Light Source’s powerful beamlines, Karissa and Jake, for the first time, were able to capture detailed images of these iron deposits. Their research provides valuable insights into how iron accumulation may contribute to brain cell damage in Sanfilippo syndrome, with hopes of guiding future treatments for this disease, and other diseases which cause dementia. This project marks the beginning of an exciting collaboration, bringing together two leading dementia researchers from opposite sides of the globe, united by a shared mission to accelerate breakthroughs in dementia.
