Adrenoleukodystrophy: fatty acid analysis of total glycerophospholipids in erythrocyte membranes

Abstract

The saturated fatty acids released from the erythrocyte membranes of four patients with adrenoleukodystrophy (ALD) and 14 diseased controls were analyzed by high performance liquid chromatography. The ratios of C26:0 to other saturated fatty acids in ALD were higher than those of diseased controls, and neither false-positive nor false-negative samples were observed. These results suggest that a study of fatty acids of total glycerophospholipids in erythrocyte membranes by high performance liquid chromatography is a useful diagnostic method of ALD.