Lipid analyses in Alzheimer´s disease (AD) samples have been performed extensively. However, most of these studies, focused on specific classes of lipids. From these studies it is already known that ceramides, in particular sulfatides, are increased in affected brain regions of AD patients when compared with those of unaffected controls. It has been reported that docosahexaenoic (DHA) is reduced in affected tissues of AD patients; however, this finding is not consistent in all studies. Also changes in plasmalogen levels have been reported in early AD subjects as well as in animal models.
Within this project, we have focused particularly on lipids with regard to peroxisomal functions. Through the combination and correlation of detailed AD pathology with peroxisomal functions and "peroxisomal lipid" quantifications we intend to gain novel insights into peroxisomal involvement in the context of AD pathology. This project is a cooperation with Ronald Wanders (Academic Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands), Wilhelm Just (Biochemie-Zentrum Universität Heidelberg, Germany), Romana Höftberger and Herbert Budka (Klinisches Institut für Neurologie, Medical University Vienna, Austria) and the "Vienna Transdanube Aging (VITA) study" coordinated by Peter Fischer (Ludwig Boltzmann Institute of Aging Research, Medical University Vienna, Austria).
