Membrane lipids in the aging human brain

The membrane lipid composition of human brain has been studied in 21 men and 18 women 60-97 years of age. This brain tissue series is unique, because it has been obtained only from individuals who lived a normal social life in their own homes and died suddenly and unexpectedly from arteriosclerotic heart disease or ruptured aortic aneurysms. They had no history of neurological or psychiatric disease. Macroscopic and microscopic examinations ruled out any signs of organic brain disorder. The percentage of solids diminished continuously during the whole period, but the marked individual differences suggested large variations in the hydration of the brain. The content of membrane lipids also diminished continuously up to 90 years of age, when a marked diminution in level of gangliosides and cerebrosides occurred, a result indicating a rapid reduction in amount of neuronal membranes and myelin. The clinical implications of the variation in brain hydration and the rapid loss of membrane lipids after 90 years of age are discussed.