The stability of myelin ethanolamine glycerophosphatide in post-mortem human and bovine brains

Effects of storage conditions on rat brain ethanolamine glycerophospholipids, cerebrosides, and cholesterol

The effects of storage on rat brain lipid composition were studied in terms of ethanolamine glycerophospholipid, cerebrosides, and cholesterol. Rat brains were stored at several combinations of temperature and time. Storage conditions were: 2 hr at room temperature, 12 hr of refrigeration, and a sequence of both of these conditions. Two-dimensional thin layer chromatography followed by colorimetric analyses of eluted lipids were used to determine molar ratios of phosphatidylethanolamine, ethanolamine plasmalogen, lysophosphatidylethanolamine, and cerebrosides. Cholesterol was also determined. These studies revealed small but significant increases in lysophosphatidylethanolamine in all three cases. A slight increase was also noted in the apparent molar proportion of cholesterol.

Lipid composition of myelin in multiple sclerosis

Myelin was isolated from histologically normal white matter and plaques from MS patients and from white matter of neurologically normal controls. No difference was found in the total lipid content. There were no detectable deficits in MS myelin of phosphoglycerides, plasmalogens or sphingolipids. Gangliosides and lysolecithin were not detected. Analysis of the fatty aldehyde composition of the phosphoglycerides and the fatty acid composition of the cholesteryl esters, phosphoglycerides and sphingolipids did not show any differences between the normal and MS myelin.