Lipidomic Approaches in Common and Rare Cerebrovascular Diseases: The Discovery of Unconventional Lipids as Novel Biomarkers.

Stroke remains a major cause of death and disability worldwide. Identifying new circulating biomarkers able to distinguish and monitor common and rare cerebrovascular diseases that lead to stroke is of great importance. Biomarkers provide complementary information that may improve diagnosis, prognosis and prediction of progression as well. Furthermore, biomarkers can contribute to filling the gap in knowledge concerning the underlying disease mechanisms by pointing out novel potential therapeutic targets for personalized medicine. If many "conventional" lipid biomarkers are already known to exert a relevant role in cerebrovascular diseases, the aim of our study is to review novel "unconventional" lipid biomarkers that have been recently identified in common and rare cerebrovascular disorders using novel, cutting-edge lipidomic approaches.