Laurits Mathiesen
DARE: Research at top US universities into rare brain disorder
Laurits Mathiesen has put his medical studies at Aalborg University on hold for a year to conduct research at the University of California in San Francisco (UCSF) and Stanford University. His project looks at adrenoleukodystrophy, a rare genetic brain disorder.
Adrenoleukodystrophy (ALD) is an X-linked metabolic condition characterised by progressive neurological deterioration caused by inflammatory degradation of white matter.
The mechanisms behind ALD and other neurodegenerative disorders are still not fully understood. Several factors are thought to play a role in the condition, including changes in the brain’s metabolism. If it metabolises sugar anaerobically (without oxygen) instead of aerobically (with oxygen), it can have negative effects and lead to inflammation and tissue degradation, as is the case with ALD.
To study the relationship between the two types of metabolism, Laurits will use an advanced MRI scanning technique called hyperpolarised 13C-MR. The technique, developed at the Technical University of Denmark (DTU), allows the signal from a substance to be amplified up to 50,000 times on an MRI scan.
By hyperpolarising pyruvate, a product of the sugar metabolism, and then injecting it into test animals, it is possible to visualise and quantify where sugar metabolism is most active in the brain. It is also possible to track the pyruvate and its end products and assess how much sugar is burnt aerobically and anaerobically.
At UCSF, Mathiesen will work under Professor Myriam Chaumeil, an expert in hyperpolarised MR, whose team is among the world leaders in this field. He will also work under Professor Keith Van Haren at Stanford University, a paediatric neurologist whose team developed the mouse model of ALD that will be used in the project.
During his stay in the US, the student will also receive support from his supervisor Jakob Udby Blicher, Professor of Neurology at Aalborg University.
Laurits Mathiesen (30) has just finished semester eight of the medical degree at Aalborg University. He is one of five Danish medical students participating in the Lundbeck Foundation’s Danish American Research Exchange (DARE) programme, which offers the opportunity to study and research at some of the world’s top universities. He will spend the year studying and researching at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) and Stanford University.
