UC Irvine

Background

Altered plasma levels of sphingolipids, including sphingomyelins (SM), have been found in mouse models of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and in AD patient plasma samples.

Objective

This study assesses fourteen plasma SM species in a late-onset AD (LOAD) patient cohort (n = 138).

Methods

Specimens from control, preclinical, and symptomatic subjects were analyzed using targeted mass-spectrometry-based metabolomic methods.

Results

Total plasma SM levels were not significantly affected by age or cognitive status. However, one metabolite that has been elevated in manifest AD in several recent studies, SM OHC14:1, was reduced significantly in pre-clinical AD and MCI relative to normal controls.

Conclusion

We recommend additional comprehensive plasma lipidomics in experimental and clinical biospecimens related to LOAD that might advance the utility of plasma sphingomyelin levels in molecular phenotyping and interpretations of pathobiological mechanisms.