Concentration of lipids in the brain of infants and adults

Abstract

The concns. of cerebroside, free cholesterol, total cholesterol, total phospholipin, lecithin, sphingomyelin and kephalin were detd. in both the gray and white matter of the brains of 5 infants and 5 adults. The water content of both white and gray matter of infant brain was greater than that of adult brain, and for the adult the water content of gray matter was much greater than that of white matter. The distribution of lipids in the white matter of infant brain resembled that of the gray matter and also the gray matter of adult brain. The distribution of lipids in the white matter of adult brain differed from that of the white matter of infant brain in that there was a higher concn. of cerebroside, free cholesterol and sphingomyelin. Although, in terms of dry wt., the white matter of adult brain had about the same total phospholipin content as white matter of infant brain, it contained more sphingomyelin and less lecithin. The data reported here, taken in conjunction with those of previous studies, suggest that cerebroside, free cholesterol and sphingomyelin are the principal lipid components of the "myelin" sheath of nerve fibers.