Extra Virgin Olive Oil Slows Memory Decline in Down Syndrome Mouse Model

A daily dash of extra virgin olive oil may provide some cognitive benefits for people with Down syndrome.

The bold claim comes from a group of researchers who fed the oil to mice born with an extra chromosome, making them a suitable model for studying Down syndrome.

The researchers noticed that, compared to the control group, the mice given the oil showed significant improvement in learning and spatial memory.

The team concluded that the oil could hold benefits for people with Down syndrome as well.

The findings were published in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease.

Mouse oil

Down syndrome is a genetic condition that occurs when a child is born with an extra copy of chromosome number 21, making a total of 47 instead of 46 chromosomes. This duplicate chromosome leads to delays in the child’s mental and physical development, as well as an increased risk for health problems throughout their life, including Alzheimer's disease.

To test if this kind of cognitive decline could be slowed with the simple addition of olive oil to the diet, the researchers from Temple University, Philadelphia, first sourced two groups of mice born with a TsDn65 alternation.

“We chose the TsDn65 mouse model of DS [Down syndrome] for our studies for two main reasons,” Domenico Praticò, a professor of clinical pharmacology at Temple University, told Technology Networks.

“It is probably the best-characterized model of DS, and most widely studied DS mouse model for testing therapeutic interventions. It recapitulates several aspects of the DS phenotype such as memory impairments/deficits, synaptic dysfunction, neuroinflammation, cholinergic deficits and neuropathology.”

“However, like any other animal model of a human disease, it is not perfect and has some limitations in recapitulating the full spectrum of human DS,” he added.

At the age of four months, the mice were divided into two groups to be fed either a standard chow diet for five months or the same chow supplemented with extra virgin olive oil.

The mice were monitored and placed in mazes to test their behavior and memory recall skills. At nine months old, the mice were euthanized so their brains could be dissected and studied.

The researchers found that the olive oil-fed mice performed significantly better in the maze tests. Given that both groups of mice moved at similar speeds, the superiority of oil-fed mice was attributed to their better memory recall.

The brains of the oil-fed mice also showed lower levels of inflammation in areas linked to microglial activation – a key factor in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease.

Implications for people with Down syndrome

While the findings may have come from mice, the researchers stress that their results could still have implications for people with Down syndrome. They say just two tablespoons of oil a day would be recommended.

“The cognitive benefits of extra virgin olive oil as well as any dietary approach (i.e., Mediterranean diet) are never acute. They require chronic exposure/adherence,” said Praticò.

“As for Alzheimer’s disease, the most common form of memory impairment/dementia, based on clinical studies a daily usage of two tablespoons per day (or 40-50 ml/day) is recommended also for DS subjects.”

People with Down syndrome often value their routine and can struggle with large changes. But, given the versatility of olive oil, Praticò says any person or carer considering adding the oil into a diet can do so in several simple ways.

“Altering routine could create some issues in people with DS. However, what I am suggesting is to add extra virgin olive oil to the ‘regular food’ they eat and not to change their diet,” he clarified.

“To this end, I want to stress the versatility of the extra virgin olive oil and the fact that it can be consumed in any way the person prefers such as on a salad, on a piece of bread, mixed in soup, etc., etc. You can also cook with it.”

This culinary advice, he says, extends to people with or without Down syndrome.

“I always say that ‘it is never too early and never too late’ to start adding extra virgin olive oil to your diet on a regular basis.”

Reference: Li JG, Leone A, Servili M, Praticò D. Extra virgin olive oil beneficial effects on memory, synaptic function, and neuroinflammation in a mouse model of Down syndrome. J. Alzheimers Dis. 2024. doi: 10.1177/13872877241283675