Lipid profiling reveals unsaturated lipid reduction in women with Alzheimer's disease

INTRODUCTION: Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a devastating neurological disease that disproportionately affects women. This study aimed to investigate sex-specific single lipids associated with AD.

METHODS: Plasma samples from 841 participants, comprising 306 individuals with AD, 165 with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and 370 cognitively healthy controls were curated from the AddNeuroMed cohort. Lipidomics identified 268 single lipids for each sample. We investigated sex-specific associations from lipid modules and single lipids to AD and probed for causality with mediation analyses.

RESULTS: Three modules associated with AD in the female subset and one in the male subset (P < 0.05). In the female participants with AD, lipid families containing highly unsaturated fatty acids were reduced and those containing saturated lipids were increased (q value < 0.05). The effects of unsaturated phospholipids on AD were not mediated via cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein, or apolipoprotein B.

DISCUSSION: Women with AD have lower unsaturated plasma lipid levels compared to controls.

HIGHLIGHTS: Lipid profiling showed lipid changes associated with Alzheimer's disease (AD) exclusively in women. Women with AD had fewer highly unsaturated lipids and more saturated lipids. Unsaturated phospholipids affected AD independently of cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein, or apolipoprotein B. Sex-stratified analysis is key to understanding the different manifestations of AD.