Category: Tremor
Objective: The objective of the study was to compare fatty acids (FA) profiles within different fractions of phospholipids retrieved from the cerebellum of patients who died with PD or essential tremor (ET).
Background: ET is the most prevalent adult-onset movement disorder. While the pathophysiology of ET remains poorly defined, it possibly involves a cerebellum dysfunction. FA play a critical role in brain function but their specific role in the pathophysiology of ET in unknown. From a therapeutic standpoint, it is important to determine the relation between brain FA and ET progression because brain FA content depends on nutritional intake, a readily manageable environmental factor.
Method: Lipids were extracted from the cerebellum cortex with the Folch method, followed by TLC to separate phospholipid classes (phosphatidylcholine (PC), phosphatidylethanolamine (PE), phosphatidylinositol and phosphatidylserine (PI+PS)) for quantification with GC-FID comparing Controls (n=17) to PD (n=15) and ET (n=15) groups.
Results: Total and relative FA content within PC were found to be relatively similar between groups. However, lower absolute levels (mg/g wet tissue) of SFA, ω-3 and ω-6 PUFA in PE fractions were recovered from the cerebellum of ET patients, when compared to Controls or PD patients. The relative content in SFA in PE was also lower in ET. The total amount of FA retrieved in the fraction combining PI and PS was higher in PD patients compared to other groups (mg/g wet tissue). In addition, PD was associated with higher absolute levels of SFA and MUFA in PI+PS fractions, compared to other groups. Adjustments for age, sex and cerebellar pH did not change statistical significance of ANOVAs and group comparisons presented. Linear regression analyses showed that a longer ET duration was associated with lower levels of ω-3 and ω-6 PUFA in PI+PS extracts. No decrease of FA content was observed with age of death, but rather a trend towards an increase in ω-3 PUFA with age was found.
Conclusion: The data generated suggest that alteration in cerebellar FA content may be involved in the pathophysiology of ET and may be relevant to novel lipid-based therapeutic approaches.
To cite this abstract in AMA style:
K. Melançon, L. Berthiaume, C. Tremblay, P. Juline, A. Rajput, A. Rajput, F. Calon. Post mortem fatty acid abnormalities in the cerebellar cortex of patients with essential tremor [abstract]. Mov Disord. 2020; 35 (suppl 1). https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/post-mortem-fatty-acid-abnormalities-in-the-cerebellar-cortex-of-patients-with-essential-tremor/. Accessed June 15, 2025.« Back to MDS Virtual Congress 2020
MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/post-mortem-fatty-acid-abnormalities-in-the-cerebellar-cortex-of-patients-with-essential-tremor/