Study: Olive Oil Protects Brain From Alzheimer’s

The benefits of a Mediterranean diet are widely chronicled, but new research shows extra-virgin olive oil, a key part of the diet, may protect “against cognitive decline.”

Olive oil tasting at the San Diego Bay Wine & Food Festival. Image credit: Fast Forward Event Productions/Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)

Specifically, researchers at Temple University in Philadelphia say extra-virgin olive oil “protects memory and learning ability and reduces the formation of amyloid-beta plaques and neurofibrillary tangles in the brain – classic markers of Alzheimer's disease.”

Researcher say olive oil reduced inflammation and triggers a process called autophagy, which helps broken down cells to flush intracellular debris and toxins. This includes amyloid plaques and tau tangles, the latter of which is associated with memory loss in Alzheimer’s.

“Brain cells from mice fed diets enriched with extra-virgin olive oil had higher levels of autophagy and reduced levels of amyloid plaques and phosphorylated tau,” said senior investigator Domenico Praticò.

For their study, the researchers looked at mice with three traits of Alzheimer’s: memory impairment, amyloid plaques, and neurofibrillary tangles. The mice were put into two groups, one group got a diet enriched with extra-virgin olive oil, while the other group received a normal diet.

The olive oil was given to the mice when they were only six months old and before any symptoms of Alzheimer’s set in. While there was no difference in the appearance of the mice, at age 9 months and 12 months, the mice in the olive oil group “performed significantly better on tests designed to evaluate working memory, spatial memory, and learning abilities.”

An analysis of the brain tissue of the mice revealed more differences.

“One thing that stood out immediately was synaptic integrity,” Praticò said. The integrity of the connections between neurons, known as synapses, were preserved in animals on the extra-virgin olive oil diet. In addition, compared to mice on a regular diet, brain cells from animals in the olive oil group showed a dramatic increase in nerve-cell autophagy activation, which ultimately was responsible for the reduction in levels of amyloid plaques and phosphorylated tau.”

Next, researchers plan to see what happens to mice who are given olive oil at 12 months, when they are already showing symptoms.

“Usually when a patient sees a doctor for suspected symptoms of dementia, the disease is already present,” Praticò added. “We want to know whether olive oil added at a later time point in the diet can stop or reverse the disease.”

The study was published online June 21 in the Annals of Clinical and Translational Neurology. (VOA News)

YOU MAY ALSO LIKE

No safe level of smoking: Even low-intensity smokers are at increased risk of earlier death

People who consistently smoked an average of less than one cigarette per day over their lifetime had a 64 percent higher risk of earlier death than never smokers, and those who smoked between one and 10 cigarettes a day had an 87 percent higher risk of earlier death than never smokers, according to a new study from researchers at the National Cancer Institute.

Oxytocin affects facial recognition

A genetic variation in the receptor for oxytocin, a hormone involved in social bonding, affects the ability to remember faces in families with a child who has autism. The finding points the way to a better understanding of oxytocin’s role in social behavior.

Anxiety May Be Alleviated by Changing Gut Bacteria

Anxiety may be alleviated by changing a person’s gut bacteria, new research suggests.

Scientists create ‘genetic atlas’ of proteins in human blood

An international team of researchers led by scientists at the University of Cambridge and MSD has created the first detailed genetic map of human proteins, the key building blocks of biology.

Study solves ovarian cell mystery, shedding new light on reproductive disorders

Scientists have solved a long-standing mystery about the origin of one of the cell types that make up the ovary. The team also discovered how ovarian cells share information during development of an ovarian follicle, which holds the maturing egg.

A new study identifies essential genes for cancer immunotherapy

A new study identifies genes that are necessary in cancer cells for immunotherapy to work, addressing the problem of why some tumors don’t respond to immunotherapy or respond initially but then stop as tumor cells develop resistance to immunotherapy.