Glycoconjugate changes in aging and age-related diseases.

The significance of glycosphingolipids and glycoproteins is discussed in their relation to normal aging and pathological aging, aging with diseases. Healthy myelin that looks stable is found to be gradually degraded and reconstructed throughout life for remodeling. An exciting finding is that myelin P0 protein is located in neurons and glycosylated in aging brains. In pathological aging, the roles of glycosphingolipids and glycoproteins as risk factors or protective agents for Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases are discussed. Intensive studies have been performed aiming to remove the risks from and to restore the functional deficits of the brain. Some of them are expected to be translated to therapeutic means.