Fats fuel the brain

We are thrilled to be part of a new study published in Nature Metabolism, led by Dr. Merja Joensuu (AIBN, UQ). With two other studies (Kumar et al., and Greda et al.) published in the same journal, we have demonstrated that sugars are not the sole source of fuel for neurons. Indeed, healthy neurons in the brain produce saturated fatty acids that they use for fuel. Given that mutations in the DHHD2 enzyme, which produces saturated free fatty acids in the brain, is linked to hereditary spastic paraplegia 54 (HSP 54), these results have important implications for a number of metabolic brain disorders. Congratulations Merja, Saber, Hilary and other co-authors!