UK DRI Professor Tara Spires-Jones sheds light on how damage spreads through the brain

In new research published in Brain, UK DRI Professor Tara Spires-Jones' team have shown how a key chemical disrupts brain cells in Dementia with Lewy Bodies (DLB).

Brain tissue from people with DLB showed that the protein builds up in vital parts of neurons that connect cells and may jump from one cell to another through these connections. The findings shed light on the causes of DLB and will help to accelerate the search for a treatment.

The study focused on synapses – shared connection points between brain cells that allow chemical and electrical signals to flow between cells. These signals are vital for forming memories and are key to brain health.

The researchers showed that synapses in five people who had died with DLB contained clumps of the damaging protein, known as alpha-synuclein, which could contribute to dementia symptoms.

Toxic alpha-synuclein was spotted in both sides of the synapses, suggesting that it may jump between cells through these connections. This sheds light on how damage could be spread through the brain.

Similar findings were not seen in brain tissue from people who had died with Alzheimer’s disease or those without dementia.

The discovery was made with extremely powerful technology, used in DLB for the first time, which allowed the scientists to view detailed images of over one million single synapses. Individual synapses are around 5000 times smaller than the thickness of a sheet of paper.

Although alpha-synuclein clumps had been previously identified in DLB, their effects on synapses were unknown because of difficulties in studying them due to their tiny size.

DLB is the third most common form of dementia after Alzheimer’s and vascular dementias, affecting around 100,000 people in the UK. It can cause severe memory loss as well as movement problems and there is no cure.

The study was carried out in collaboration with Hospital de Sant Pau and Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona.