Lipid Metabolism in Neuropsychiatric Disorders

Recent studies highlight the role of lipids in inflammation in neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD). The metabolism of certain lipids could be pathologically changed and thereby be part of the early disease process. The candidate’s group aims to understand the effect of membrane lipid dysregulation in disease onset and progression. Current knowledge supports the hypothesis that targeting this pathway may be beneficial by slowing down or even stop the progression of the disease. Several putative treatment strategies have been tested in our team, which demonstrate that modulation of this lipid pathway can modify AD pathophysiology in animal models. We plan to clarify the molecular pathways involved to fine-tune our targeting strategy in the next year/years; additionally, also exploring the possibility that some of these lipids can serve as biomarkers of neurodegenerative/neuropsychiatric diseases.