Lipid Metabolism: Key Determinant in Neurodegenerative Diseases

One of the major and necessary events in the normal development of the central nervous system is the proper formation of myelin sheath which is influenced by dietary lipids. Lipids play a pivotal role in normal and physiological function of the brain. There are eight different classes of lipids that form the central nervous system. To understand the link between lipids and neurodegenerative diseases, the role of these different classes of lipids at different stages of the disease has been a focus of researchers and clinicians. A newly emerged discipline that studies pathways and network of cellular lipids by mass spectroscopy is lipidomics. Currently, there is no cure for the CNS disorders and it affects the quality of the patient’s life. With the advent of lipidomics, a better understanding about the cellular lipids might pave path towards diagnosis and treatment of neurodegeneration. Neurodegenerative diseases involve dysregulated lipid metabolism and oxidative stress; therefore, targeting lipid metabolism by drugs can provide a new perspective for treatment of the disease and, thereby, improvement of the patient’s quality of life.