The Defying Dementia team recently hosted an insightful lab tour and talk event at Lancaster University. Chaired by Dr Ed Parkin, the event offered attendees a unique opportunity to explore the innovative dementia research being conducted at the University.

PhD researchers Alice Wood and Hannah Chadwick shared information about their research with guests, and Dr Cheryl Hawkes updated the group on plans for creating a Defying Dementia ‘Patient and Public Involvement’ group. Joined by Dr Neil Dawson, guests were then taken on an insightful tour of the laboratories to see some of the research in action.

Alice Wood

Alice Wood, a PhD researcher at Lancaster University, gave an insight into the focus of her research which involves investigating Amyloid Precursor Protein (APP) fragments in potential therapies for Alzheimer’s disease.

Alice explained the causes of Alzheimer’s:

- Amyloid-Beta Plaques, which are produced when the APP is broken down. These disrupt cell-to-cell communication.

- Tau Tangles, which are composed of Tau proteins. These disrupt the transport system in cells.

- Beta-enzyme, cells with high levels are much less healthy than normal cells.

An alternative alpha-enzyme can cut APP within the amyloid-beta region, preventing generation of amyloid beta plaques. Instead, this results in the release of a protective fragment called sAPPalpha, which is a highly beneficial protein, having demonstrated roles in the formation of new neurons, brain development, and increasing learning and memory. Increasing sAPPalpha represents a potential therapeutic target.

Alice gave further insight into her future work, which involves genetically modifying flies to produce high levels of amyloid-beta as an Alzheimer’s model. She is then engineering these flies to produce lots of sAPP fragments such as sAPPalpha to see whether they have any beneficial, or perhaps even toxic, effects. Through this, the behaviour of the flies can be studied, including navigation, learning and memory.

The importance of this research is significant, as it helps to improve understanding of how APP is processed. Given that sAPPalpha is known to offer protection against disease progression, the roles of novel fragments of APP need to be determined, which holds the potential to identify new therapeutic targets for Alzheimer’s and could contribute to the development of other therapies for the disease.

Hannah Chadwick

Hannah Chadwick is in the second year of her PhD and gave insight into her research which is investigating whether there is an impact of paternal obesity on a child’s brain and cognitive function. While this research area could be considered controversial, research has shown that paternal obesity has been associated with increased incidence of neurodevelopmental disorders, encouraging Hannah to investigate this further.

A 2014 study by Dr Suren et al studied a sample of 92,909 children from the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study and saw that children of fathers who are obese at conception are 1.73 to 2.01 more times likely to have Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) which in conclusion, linked ASD with paternal obesity. A further study by Dr Muller et al 2014 looked into how this could relate to Alzheimer’s Disease, looking at various factors including intrauterine environment, socioeconomic status and lifestyle and measuring age-related cognitive function over a lifetime period.

Hannah’s own research includes behavioural testing of mice, where one group of father mice are on a control diet prior to conception versus a second group on a high fat diet. Results of this showed an increased amyloid beta plaque load in mice born to obese fathers, which can lead to neuronal dysfunction.

Hannah’s research aims to investigate whether paternal obesity prior to conception will cause alterations in neurodevelopment that will impact their children, further understand the contribution of paternal nutrition to brain development and long-term cognitive effects and potentially identify another target population for health advice prior to conception.

Dr Cheryl Hawkes

An aspect of significant importance to our research is the involvement of our community; people who are living with dementia, their family, carers and friends. Their experiences, views and considerations are vital in understanding the impact of dementia and how research can be informed. Dr Cheryl Hawkes explained plans to set up an informal ‘Defying Dementia Patient and Public Involvement’ group in support of their research.

The group would give our researchers the opportunity to gather feedback on their research plans and findings, and it would help them to prioritise and disseminate their research. Participants would have the opportunity to lead the group, with focus placed on their opinions and questions, helping to guide focus and increase the impact of research findings. Participants would also have the opportunity to keep up to date with ongoing dementia research.

Following the talks, guests were taken on a tour of the laboratories where they were able to observe research activity and watch experiments first-hand. This included an experiment in motion investigating the behaviour of mice, and a look through the microscope to understand more about Alice’s research using fruit flies. Thanks to the insights delivered by our Defying Dementia team, guests had the opportunity learn so much more about their incredible work and how they are making a difference in the fight against dementia.

We extend our grateful thanks to our Defying Dementia team for their generosity in opening their laboratory doors and welcoming our guests. Their dedication to advancing knowledge and innovation in dementia research was truly inspiring, and we deeply appreciate the time and effort they put into sharing their work.

We also extend our heartfelt gratitude to all our donors who support the work of our Defying Dementia team – thank you for your desire and commitment to improving the lives of the people and families living with dementia.

Click here to find out more about Defying Dementia and how you can continue to be involved.

To find out more about being involved with the Defying Dementia ‘Patient and Public Involvement’ group, please contact Dr Cheryl Hawkes at c.hawkes@lancaster.ac.uk