Patients with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) often also have symptoms of other diseases, such as diabetes or heart disease. Many of these conditions are heavily impacted by how our bodies metabolize (process or use) the fats, or lipids, our bodies need for everyday functions. In addition, many of the more than 20 genetic risk factors linked to AD can also impact how our bodies use or modify lipids. These findings support the idea that changes in the way our bodies metabolize lipids may contribute to not only the development of AD, but also to how the disease develops in different patients.
Research supported by the Common Fund Metabolomics program aimed to test the idea that distinct lipids are altered both in early and late phases of AD. Metabolomics is a way to identify and measure biological molecules, like lipids, that are created, processed, or consumed during cell metabolism. By identifying key metabolomic changes at different stages in AD development, researchers may be able to pinpoint critical steps in how the disease begins and advances. The researchers used metabolomic experiments to test samples (collected by the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative) for differences in AD-related lipids in the blood of people with different stages of AD. Depending on the AD stage, they found significant alterations in lipids that led to biochemical changes. For example, in earlier stages of AD, one type of lipid was associated with the accumulation of a hallmark AD protein, tau; however, this lipid was not found in later phases of AD even as tau continues to accumulate. Findings such as these present researchers with new ideas for therapeutic strategies to target different biochemical and metabolomic pathways in our bodies. While promising, future studies are needed to determine the full effect of genetic mutations, diet, and lifestyle on these pathways and how they can be used to predict or treat AD.
Reference
- Sets of coregulated serum lipids are associated with Alzheimer’s disease pathophysiology. Barupal DK, Baillie R, Fan S, Saykin AJ, Meikle PJ, Arnold M, Nho K, Fiehn O, Kaddurah-Daouk R, & Alzheimer Disease Metabolomics Consortium. Alzheimers & Dementia, 11 (2019) 619-627.
