OLIVE OILS AND HEALTH 190 vironmental/lifestyle-related factors (e.g., tobacco consumption in AD and vascular dementia). Aberrant proteins, such as beta-amyloid and tau protein, accumulate in AD patients’ brains. In vascular dementia there are lesions in the blood vessels (vascular lesions) and the brain (small-size strokes) which are also relatively frequent in AD patients, particularly in those who have developed a late illness, in whom the more precise diagnosis would be that of mixed dementia. In all three entities, AD, vascular dementia, and mixed dementia, oxidative stress and low-grade inflammatory processes (neuroinflammation) promote progressive brain damage. As previously mentioned, the ultimate cause for most neurodegenerative diseases is unknown. Nevertheless, several mechanisms, such as an aberrant protein accumulation, vascular damage, oxidative stress, and neuroinflammation have been identified as being responsible for neuron damage and alterations in other brain cells. The lack of curative treatments reinforces the role of time and quoting Salvador Dali “time is one of the few important things that we have left”. In most neurodegenerative diseases, there is a considerable time lapse between the onset of the pathological process including the development of harmful mechanisms (aberrant protein accumulation, vascular damage, oxidative stress, and neuroinflammation) and the first clinical symptoms of the disease. The latency period refers to the time between the starting time of a lesion and the appearance of clinical signs and symptoms. Given that we know how to manage some of the harmful mechanisms involved in neurodegeneration, a long latency period provides a unique and excellent opportunity to prevent most neurodegenerative diseases. Years ago, researchers reported that one fourth of AD cases could be prevented by an adequate control of vascular risk factors such as blood cholesterol and other blood lipids, hypertension, diabetes, obesity, smoking, and sleep apnoea. They highlighted the benefits of lifestyle factor modification on dementia prevention as well as the harmful effects of vascular risk factors on AD development. It is well known that the key factors (lipids, hypertension, diabetes, and obesity) are modulated by the question “What do you eat?” Dietary habits are decisive to control vascular risk factors and, within this frame, the ideal dietary pattern is the Mediterranean one. In this regard, MartínezGonzález MA et al., in a “Circulation Research” (2019) publication, critically evaluated all the original cohorts and randomised trials including five highly relevant meta-analyses published from 2014 to 2018, together with the available large prospective observational studies. After a revision of 45 prospective observational studies, it was concluded that large, solid, and consistent evidence supports the benefits of the traditional Mediterranean diet on cardiovascular health, with significant associated reductions in the risk coronary heart disease, ischaemic stroke, and total cardiovascular disease.
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