Isoprostanes, novel markers of oxidative injury, help understanding the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases

Isoprostanes are prostaglandin-like compounds which are formed by free radi cal catalysed peroxidation of arachidonic acid esterified in membrane phosp holipids. They are emerging as a new class of sensitive, specific and relia ble markers of in vivo lipid peroxidation and oxidative damage. Since their initial description of in 1990, the rapid development of analytical method s for isoprostane measurement has allowed to overcome some of the pitfalls of the previous and most widely used methods of assessing free radical inju ry. Here, we summarise the current knowledge on these novel class lipid per oxidation products and the advantages of monitoring their formation to bett er define the involvement of oxidative stress in neurological diseases. Alt hough the literature data are still not abundant, they indicate that in viv o or post mortem cerebrospinal fluid and brain tissue levels of isoprostane are increased in some diseases such as multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer's dis ease, Hunting ton's disease, and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.