To receive daily emails from Breaking Christian News to your inbox CLICK HERE


SHARE THIS ARTICLE Printer friendly version of this page

Extra Virgin Olive Protects Brain From Alzheimer's and Preserves Memory: Please, God, Let it Be So!

News Staff : Jun 23, 2017  Temple University

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

(Philadelphia, PA) – The Mediterranean diet, rich in plant-based foods, is associated with a variety of health benefits, including a lower incidence of dementia. Now, researchers at the Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University (LKSOM) have identified a specific ingredient that protects against cognitive decline: extra-virgin olive oil, a major component of the Mediterranean diet. In a study published online June 21 in the Annals of Clinical and Translational Neurology, the researchers show that the consumption of 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. (Photo Credit: Pixabay)

The Temple team also identified the mechanisms underlying the protective effects of extra-virgin olive oil. “We found that olive oil reduces brain inflammation but most importantly activates a process known as autophagy,” explained senior investigator Domenico Praticò, MD, Professor in the Departments of Pharmacology and Microbiology and the Center for Translational Medicine at LKSOM. Autophagy is the process by which cells break down and clear out intracellular debris and toxins, such as amyloid plaques and tau tangles.

“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,” Dr. Praticò said. The latter substance, phosphorylated tau, is responsible for neurofibrillary tangles, which are suspected of contributing to the nerve cell dysfunction in the brain that is responsible for Alzheimer's memory symptoms.

Previous studies have suggested that the widespread use of extra-virgin olive oil in the diets of people living in the Mediterranean areas is largely responsible for the many health benefits linked to the Mediterranean diet. “The thinking is that extra-virgin olive oil is better than fruits and vegetables alone, and as a monounsaturated vegetable fat it is healthier than saturated animal fats,” according to Dr. Praticò. (Photo Credit: Temple Health)

In order to investigate the relationship between extra-virgin olive oil and dementia, Dr. Praticò and colleagues used a well-established Alzheimer's disease mouse model. Known as a triple transgenic model, the animals develop three key characteristics of the disease: memory impairment, amyloid plagues, and neurofibrillary tangles.

The researchers divided the animals into two groups, one that received a chow diet enriched with extra-virgin olive oil and one that received the regular chow diet without it. The olive oil was introduced into the diet when the mice were six months old, before symptoms of Alzheimer's disease begin to emerge in the animal model.

In overall appearance, there was no difference between the two groups of animals. However, at age 9 months and 12 months, mice on the extra virgin olive oil-enriched diet performed significantly better on tests designed to evaluate working memory, spatial memory, and learning abilities.

Studies of brain tissue from both groups of mice revealed dramatic differences in nerve cell appearance and function. “One thing that stood out immediately was synaptic integrity,” Dr. 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 was ultimately responsible for the reduction in levels of amyloid plaques and phosphorylated tau.

“This is an exciting finding for us,” explained Dr. Praticò. “Thanks to the autophagy activation, memory and synaptic integrity were preserved, and the pathological effects in animals otherwise destined to develop Alzheimer's disease were significantly reduced. This is a very important discovery, since we suspect that a reduction in autophagy marks the beginning of Alzheimer's disease.”

Dr. Praticò and colleagues plan next to investigate the effects of introducing extra-virgin olive oil into the diet of the same mice at 12 months of age, when they have already developed plaques and tangles. “Usually when a patient sees a doctor for suspected symptoms of dementia, the disease is already present,” Dr. Praticò added. “We want to know whether olive oil added at a later time point in the diet can stop or reverse the disease.”

Temple University







SHARE THIS ARTICLE Printer friendly version of this page

To receive daily emails from Breaking Christian News to your inbox CLICK HERE

Other Recent Articles from Breaking Christian News

Valedictorian Goes Viral for Declaring the Love of Jesus to Her Classmates

Ohio: Schools Taken to Task for Instructing Students to Make Idols for Ritual in Class

Google Doesn't Want You to See This Letter from a Christian Pastor About Pride Month

Instagram Algorithms Promoted 'Vast Pedophile Network,' New Analysis Reveals

Lesson from Canadian Fires: We Need Better Forest Management, Not Utopian Fantasies

Donald Trump Indicted Same Day 'Treasonous' Biden Doc Released to Congress: Rep. Elise Stefanik

Give Him 15: The Increase of His Government; Hope for America and the World

Honoring Pat Robertson, Who Died at 93 This Morning: Witness to a God-Sized, World-Changing Dream

Biden's Council to Keep Churches Safe Includes Al Sharpton and 'Three Islamists': Exposing the Left-leaning, so-called 'Faith-Based Security Advisory Council'

First US Religious Charter School a Victory for Educational Freedom

Gender Clinic Quietly Closes, Erases Website in the 'Middle of the Night' after Offering Transgender Treatments to Minors

He Went Undercover to Expose 'Rubber-Stamping' of Trans Surgeries

Prayer Alert: Canada's Wildfire Smoke Envelopes Huge Swaths of North America [Watch]

Judge Jeanine Blocked by Fox News from Speaking at Church Services, says Publisher

Fox News Tells Tucker Carlson to Stop Twitter or Else!

Missionaries Report Muslims Meeting Jesus in Dreams 'In Levels We Have Never Seen in 1,400 Years!'

#31times You Saw a Trafficked Child But Didn't Know It

Following the Fall of Roe, June Is a Month to Celebrate Life: 'It's a total God thing!'

KC Chiefs' Harrison Butker's Wardrobe Makes Pro-Life Statement during Chiefs' White House Visit on Monday

Americans Believe There Are Only Two Genders By a 3-1 Margin



Search the Articles Archives

Keyword:  
Author:  
Words Posted On:  
Day Month Year



BCN Plus

Follow BCN on Twitter
Are You Praying for Our Government Leaders?
BCN Staff

Steve Shultz
Steve Shultz, Managing Editor
Founder and Owner


Aimee Herd
Aimee Herd, Editor


BCN Plus
Are You Praying for President Trump?
 
 

All articles on this site and emails from BCN are copyrighted property of Breaking Christian News. Permission is given to link to, or share a BCN story if proper attribution is given to both the original writer and summarizer of the story. Breaking Christian News 2005-2019. All Rights Reserved.


Breaking Christian News is a division of Elijah List Publications, Inc. All Rights Reserved


Disclaimer: Articles and links, as well as the source articles linked to; do not necessarily reflect the opinion of Breaking Christian News.

editor@breakingchristiannews.com