Biological membranes are a vital component of all living cells. They consist
mainly of lipids and proteins. The proteins are embedded into the lipid structure, whose
distribution in an aqueous environment forms a bilayer. The biological membranes
have an average thickness of 30Å, determined by the size of the carbon chain of lipids,
which range from 14 to 24 carbons. The lipid portion of biological membranes is also
fundamental to determine their physicochemical properties such as membrane order,
fluidity, and hydrophobicity. As Alzheimer’s disease pathology is mainly due to
actions of Aβ peptides on the plasma membrane, its modifications are of great
importance. In fact, membrane lipids, such as cholesterol, ceramides, gangliosides, and
fatty acids, have been implicated in the molecular mechanisms of various stages of
Alzheimer’s disease pathology. The following chapter describes the main changes in
membrane lipid composition in Alzheimer’s disease (AD).
Keywords: Ceramide, Cholesterol, Fatty Acids, Glycerophospholipid, Membrane,
Sphingolipid, Sphingomyelin.
