Improving brain function is key to countering the effects of aging. And according to a study by researchers at the Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University (LKSOM) in the United States, if there's one more thing everyone should consider doing to keep their brain "young", it's is to add extra virgin olive oil to his diet.
Extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) is a superfood rich in cell-protecting antioxidants and known for its multiple health benefits, including helping to curb related diseases. to aging, such as cardiovascular diseases.
Previous research, also done at LKSOM, had shown that EVOO preserves memory and protects the brain against Alzheimer's disease.
And in a new study carried out on mice, the LKSOM researchers show that it is possible to add to this list another group of diseases linked to aging, the tauopathies, characterized by the progressive formation of an abnormal form of a specific protein linked to dementia, the tau protein, in the brain.
This process leads to a decline in mental function, or dementia. The results are the first to suggest that EVOO may help the brain defend against a specific type of mental decline linked to tauopathy, called frontotemporal dementia. The results of the study have been published in the journal Aging Cell .
Alzheimer's disease is itself a form of dementia. It mainly affects the hippocampus, the memory storage center in the brain. Frontotemporal dementia affects areas of the brain near the forehead and ears. Symptoms usually appear between the ages of 40 and 65 and include personality and behavioral changes, language and writing difficulties, possible deterioration of memory and ability to learn from past experiences.
Dr. Domenico Praticò, Scott Richards North Star Foundation Chair in Alzheimer's Disease Research, Professor in the Departments of Pharmacology and Microbiology and Director of the LKSOM Alzheimer's Center, describes the new work as further evidence showing EVOO's ability to prevent cognitive decline and protect neural focal points, synapses, crucial information-sharing elements in the brain.
“EVO has been part of the human diet for a very long time and has many health benefits, for reasons we do not yet fully understand ", did he declare. “The realization that EVOO can protect the brain against different forms of dementia gives us the opportunity to learn more about the mechanisms by which it works to support brain health .
As part of previous research In a mouse model, in which mice were engineered to develop Alzheimer's disease, Praticò's team showed that EVOO provided in the diet protected young mice from memory loss and cognitive impairment. learning as they got older.
Most notably, when the researchers examined the brain tissue of EVOO-fed mice, they did not observe typical features of cognitive decline, specifically amyloid plaques, sticky proteins that saturate communication pathways between neurons. In other words, the animals' brains appeared normal.
In the case of this new study , similar consequences could be observed. Indeed, the team shows that the same is true for mice engineered to develop tauopathy.
In these, normal tau protein becomes defective and accumulates in the brain, forming deposits of harmful tau protein, also called "tangles". Tau deposits, similar to amyloid plaques in Alzheimer's disease, block neural communication and thus impair thinking and memory, leading to frontotemporal dementia.
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The sick mice in the experiment were then put on a diet supplemented with EVOO at a young age, comparable to about 30 or 40 years in humans.
Six months later, when the mice were the equivalent of 60 years in humans, harmful tau deposits had been reduced by 60% in animals at risk for tauopathy, compared to other non-fed animals. extra virgin olive oil. Mice on the EVOO diet also showed better performance on memory and learning tests than those deprived of EVOO.
When Dr. Praticò and his colleagues examined the brain tissue of mice fed EVOO, they found that improved brain function was likely facilitated by healthier functioning of synapses, which was associated with higher levels. higher than normal of a protein called Complexin-1. Complexin-1 is known to play a critical role in maintaining healthy synapses.
The research team now plans to explore what happens when EVOO is given to older animals, which began to develop tau deposits and signs of cognitive decline, which more closely matches to the clinical scenario in humans.
“We are particularly interested in whether EVOO can reverse tau damage and ultimately treat tauopathies in older mice “, added Dr. Praticò.
