Can Olive Oil Reverse Genetic Predisposition for Alzheimer’s?

Newswise — Clinical studies suggest the Mediterranean diet, and one of its main components, extra virgin olive oil (EVOO), improves cognitive function and slows Alzheimer's disease (AD) progression. Researchers will now investigate whether this is true even for people with a family history of AD and signs of genetic predisposition caused by dysfunction in the APOE gene.

Because EVOO provides several health benefits due to its strong anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects, the study will examine participants’ metabolic, lipid, and genetic profile. Healthy individuals with a family history of AD will provide blood samples for ApoE genotyping, and the experimental group will undergo 6 months of ingesting a few tablespoons of EVOO daily. A second analysis will be performed to detect changes in levels of antioxidative and anti-inflammatory metabolites, cholesterol, triglycerides, and mRNAs involved with inflammation and oxidative stress. If these measures show signs of improvement versus the control group, the case for EVOO to protect against AD is further supported.

“I am thrilled and honored to be part of a team of excellent investigators in the field,” says Domenico Praticò, MD, the Scott Richards North Star Foundation Chair for Alzheimer’s Research, Professor in the Departments of Pharmacology and Microbiology, and Director of the Alzheimer’s Center at Temple (ACT) at the Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University (LKSOM).

A collaborative effort between Auburn University, Temple University, and Yale University, the study will be led by Dr. Amal Kaddoumi at Auburn University, Dr. Tassos C. Kyriakides at Yale University, and Dr. Praticò at Temple. The clinical trial has already been approved by the Auburn University Institutional Review and is expected to be completed by the end of 2024.

The research project is registered with ID number NCT05929924 in the scientific database of clinical studies ClinicalTrials.gov.

Domenico Praticò, MD, is the Scott Richards North Star Charitable Foundation Chair for Alzheimer’s Research, Professor and Director of the Alzheimer’s Center at Temple, and Professor of Pharmacology at the Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University