Mass spectrometry-based lipidomic analysis reveals altered lipid profile in brain tissues resected from patients with focal cortical dysplasia (FCD).

Focal cortical dysplasia (FCD) is a common pathology responsible for drug-resistant epilepsy (DRE). Failure to precisely localize the epileptogenic zones (EZs) is a major reason for poor surgical outcome in FCD. Currently, there are no molecular or cellular biomarkers available which can aid in defining the EZs in FCD. Phospholipid alterations between healthy and malignant tumor tissues are reported and have been used for marking tumor margins. In this study, we utilize liquid chromatography and tandem mass spectrometry to identify altered lipids in resected brain specimens from FCD patients compared to non-epileptic controls. Based on these results, we propose that a similar approach utilizing unique lipid mass spectra can be used for defining the EZs in FCD. The observed distinct lipid mass spectra of cortical tissues from FCD patients could be used for real-time guidance during surgery as well as for ex vivo examination of resected tissues for diagnostic purposes.