Brante in 1949 10 earned out the first complete study of the lipid eomposition of human intraeranial tumors. He analyzed 11 cases of gliomas and found that total lipids aecounted for 15 to 85% of the dry weight, the dry weight being about 15% of the weight of fresh tissue. Phospholipids made up about 10%, total cholesterol 2% (3/4 of which was in the free form), and cerebrosides 2-M%. There were only traces of diglycerides and no difference was found between the several types of gliomas analyzed: only in one case of gliomatous teratoma the percentage of phospholipids decreased to 5%, while that of diglycerides increased to 12%. Brante ascribed this difference to a long period of fixation in formalin, which produces a breakdown of glyeero-phospholipids. Besides the tumors of mesodermaI origin, Brante evaluated the lipid eomposition of six meningeomas. The dry weight was calculated as being between 14% and 17% of the total weight, while the total lipid content was between 15 and 25% of the dry weight. Phospholipids were about 9%, total cholesterol 2% (2/3 in free form), and cerebrosides 1--8%. Brante did not consider the differenee in lipid composition between gliomas and meningiomas to be significant. Neurinomas --8 cases of acoustic neurinoma --had a lower lipid content than the other intraeranial tumors; about 15% of the dry weight. In the only case of haemangioma analyzed, phospholipids were only 6%, while total cholesterol was near 8% (only 1/3 of it in the free form), the same proportion as in serum cholesterol. No traces of cerebrosides were found. The lipid eomposition of one eosinophileous granuloma was found to be very similar to that of the haemangioma.Brante also studied the lipid composition of normal human piaaraehnoidea, which contains 82% lipids, with 8% phospholipids and a large unidentified fraction, supposed to be neutral fat. No traces of eholesteroI and eerebrosides were found.In the normal human adult brain, Brante found the following composition: dry weight 15% of total flesh weight, total lipids 85%, phospholipids 20%, cholesterol 5% (all in the free form) and eerebrosides 4%.

No abstract

No abstract

No abstract

No abstract