Neurochemical Aspects of Neurotraumatic and Neurodegenerative Diseases

Dr. Akhlaq A. Farooqui is a leader in the field of brain phospholipases A2, bioactive ether lipid metabolism, polyunsaturated fatty acid metabolism, glycerophospholipid-, sphingolipid-, and cholesterol-derived lipid mediators, glutamate-induced neurotoxicity and neurological disorders. He has discovered the stimulation of plasmalogen-selective phospholipase A2 (PlsEtn-PLA2) in brains from patients with Alzheimer disease. Stimulation of PlsEtn-PLA2 produces plasmalogen deficiency and increases levels of eicosanoids that may be related to the loss of synapses, induction of neuroinflammation and oxidative stress in brains of patients with Alzheimer disease. Dr. Farooqui has published cutting edge research on the generation and identification of glycerophospholipid-, sphingolipid-, and cholesterol-derived lipid mediators in kainic acid neurotoxicity by lipidomics. He has previously authored five monographs: Glycerophospholipids in Brain: Phospholipase A2 in Neurological Disorders (2007); Neurochemical Aspects of Excitotoxicity (2008); Metabolism and Functions of Bioactive Ether Lipids in Brain (2008); Hot Topics in Neural Membrane Lipidology (2009), and Beneficial Effects of Fish Oil on Human Brain (2009). All monographs are published by Springer. Dr. Farooqui has also edited two books: "Biogenic Amines: Pharmacological, Neurochemical and Molecular Aspects in the CNS" Nova Science Publishers, Hauppauge, N.Y (2010) and Molecular Aspects of Neurodegeneration and Neuroprotection, Bentham Science Publishers Ltd (2010).