Enhancing brain function is essential for combating age-related decline. Researchers at the Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University (LKSOM) have found that incorporating extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) into your diet could be a powerful way to keep your brain sharp.
Extra virgin olive oil is a nutrient powerhouse packed with cell-protecting antioxidants and renowned for its wide-ranging health benefits, including reducing the risk of age-related conditions like cardiovascular disease.
Prior LKSOM research demonstrated that EVOO helps preserve memory and shields the brain from Alzheimer's disease.
In their latest study on mice, LKSOM scientists expanded these findings to tauopathies—neurodegenerative disorders marked by the buildup of abnormal tau protein in the brain, leading to progressive dementia. The results, published in Aging Cell, indicate for the first time that EVOO may defend against frontotemporal dementia, a tauopathy-linked mental decline.
Alzheimer's disease is a common dementia primarily affecting the hippocampus, the brain's memory hub. Frontotemporal dementia targets regions near the forehead and ears, often striking between ages 40 and 65 with symptoms like personality changes, language difficulties, and impaired learning from experience.
Dr. Domenico Praticò, Scott Richards North Star Foundation Chair in Alzheimer's Disease Research, Professor in Pharmacology and Microbiology, and Director of the LKSOM Alzheimer's Center, highlights this work as further proof of EVOO's role in preventing cognitive decline and safeguarding synapses—the critical junctions for neural communication.
“EVOO has been a dietary staple for millennia with numerous health benefits we don't fully understand yet,” Dr. Praticò states. “Its ability to protect against diverse dementias opens doors to uncovering how it supports brain health.”
Building on prior work, Dr. Praticò's team previously showed that in Alzheimer's mouse models, a diet enriched with EVOO prevented memory loss and learning deficits in aging animals.
Brain tissue from EVOO-fed mice revealed no hallmarks of decline, such as amyloid plaques that disrupt neuron communication, keeping brains structurally normal.
This new study yielded similar promising results in mice genetically prone to tauopathy, where normal tau protein turns toxic, forming “tangles” that mirror Alzheimer's plaques, impairing cognition and causing frontotemporal dementia.
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At a young age (equivalent to human 30s or 40s), at-risk mice received an EVOO-supplemented diet. By midlife (human 60s equivalent), tau deposits dropped 60% compared to controls. EVOO-fed mice also excelled in memory and learning tests.
Analysis showed EVOO promoted synapse health via elevated levels of Complexin-1, a protein vital for synaptic function.
The team now aims to test EVOO in older mice with established tau pathology, mimicking human clinical scenarios.
“We're eager to see if EVOO can reverse tau damage and treat tauopathies in aged models,” Dr. Praticò adds.
