Plasmalogens

To the Editor: It is difficult to understand why Drs. Jackson and Gotto should have neglected to include in their review of phospholipids in biology and medicine (N Engl J Med 290:24, 87, 1974) the extensive research on phosphatidylcholine, phosphatidylserine, and phosphatidylethanolamine, commonly called plasmalogens. It is an established fact that about 30 per cent of the phospholipids in human myocardium are plasmalogens. Studies have shown that the disappearance of plasmalogens, essential components of the cell membrane, from the arterial wall and the myocardium, is associated with the incipient atherosclerotic process and the onset of myocardial infarction.1,2 These changes are.