Changes in Brain Lipids During Aging

Abstract

In the mammalian central nervous system, Lipids comprise over half of the total dry weight. Almost all of the Lipids in the CNS are found in membranes of cells. These brain Lipids are constantly being synthesized, replacing other lipid molecules in the membranes. Neurons and glia seem to have a characteristic lipid profile. Different types of membranes accumulate different types of Lipids. As a result of changes in numbers of neurons and glia with age and other factors, a continuous change in lipid composition and particularly in the acyl groups of the brain Lipids has been observed with age. In primates, the lipid content rises during development, remains relatively constant during maturity, and then falls during aging. Marked decreases in the rate of brain lipid metabolism with increasing age have also been reported.KeywordsLipid ContentBrain LipidMammalian Central Nervous SystemAcyl Group CompositionTotal Lipid ConcentrationThese keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.