31P nuclear magnetic resonance studies of phosphoglyceride metabolism in developing and degenerating brain: preliminary observations.

31P nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) studies were conducted on perchloric acid extracts of the brain of one control, two Huntington's disease (HD), one probable Alzheimer's disease (AD), and one AD patient. These studies demonstrated significant elevations (over control) in the levels of phosphomonoesters in all brain areas of the patients with HD and AD even in areas devoid of neuropathological findings. Elevations of phosphodiesters were also observed, but they tended to reflect the degree of neuropathological change. We postulate that the 31P NMR findings represent molecular alterations with corresponding metabolic correlates which either antedate or occur in the absence of changes in cellular morphology or structure. As such the 31P NMR findings may reflect a subcellular "molecular neuropathology."