New Route to Map Brain Fat

[TECH NEWS]

Mapping the fat distribution of the healthy human brain is a key step in understanding neurological diseases, in general, and the neurodegeneration that accompanies Alzheimer’s disease in particular. Antonio Veloso and colleagues, from the University of the Basque Country in Leioa, Spain, find a new technique to reveal the fat distribution of three different areas of the healthy human brain. Their work is published online in Springer’s journal, Analytical & Bioanalytical Chemistry. The multi-disciplinary team used a combination of MALDI-TOF imaging mass spectrometry (a technique used to visualize the spatial distribution of compounds by their molecular mass) and functional autoradiography (an image recorded on a photographic film that shows the distribution of the activity induced by a drug) to scan healthy brain tissue slices. They mapped out, in detail, the lipid distribution of 43 types of lipids in three distinct areas of the human brain: the frontal cortex, hippocampus and striatum. What is unique about their method, is its ability to identify the lipid species as well as locate them. Indeed, localization of lipid species is lost with the use of traditional techniques.

5/4/2011, PhysOrg.com
Source: http://www.springerlink.com/content/g8610517kw78kg4h/