Emma Burgos Ramos (ORCID: 0000-0002-6942-3023) obtained her Ph.D. in Biology from the University of Alcalá (Madrid) in late 2006, analyzing the effects of several drugs on the somatostatin receptor-effector system in an animal experimental model of Alzheimer’s disease. In 2007, she joined the Laboratory of Endocrinology and Nutrition at Hospital Infantil Universitario Niño Jesús (Madrid) as a postdoctoral researcher, under the supervision of Vicente Barrios Sabador, Ph.D. During that time, she was a member of the Obesity and Nutrition CIBER and held a Postdoctoral Sara Borrell contract, studying the regulation of leptin and insulin intracellular signaling mechanisms both in the central nervous system and in peripheral tissues, which regulate energy homeostasis in the pathogenesis of obesity and type 2 diabetes. This contract also allowed her to undertake two stays at centers of excellence: the Metabolic Research Laboratory at the Universidad Clínica de Navarra (Pamplona) and the Edison Biotechnology Institute at Ohio University (USA), where she carried out microarray profiles and proteomic analysis, respectively.
In 2013, she joined CNIO (Madrid) in the cancer stem cells group directed by Professor Christopher Heeschen, participating in the metabolic characterization of stem cells from pancreatic tumors. In 2014, she worked at IMDEA Food Institute (Madrid) as a junior researcher in the Laboratory of Functional Foods, where she started to study the effects of different nutraceuticals on health. Simultaneously, she joined as an adjunct professor at the Faculty of Environmental Sciences and Biochemistry at UCLM. In 2022, she secured a permanent position as an Associate Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the same university. Her research focuses on analyzing the effects of hydroxytyrosol on neurodegenerative and metabolic disorders. To date, she has published more than forty-two research papers and participated in more than fifty-four conferences.. 

Olive oil, a treasure for the brain.

Emma Burgos-Ramos 1,2, Vicente Barrios-Sabador 3,4, Laura M. Frago 3,4,5 and María Rodríguez-Pérez1,2.

  1. Biochemistry Area, Faculty of Environmental Sciences and Biochemistry, University of Castilla-La Mancha; Avenue Carlos III s/n, 45071 Toledo, Spain.
  2. NUENE Group. Institute of Biomedicine, UCLM, Spain.
  3. Departments of Pediatrics & Pediatric Endocrinology, Hospital Infantil Universitario Niño Jesús, Research Institute “La Princesa”, E-28009 Madrid, Spain.
  4. Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Fisiopatología de la Obesidad y Nutriciόn, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, E-28009 Madrid, Spain.
  5. Department of Pediatrics, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, E-28049 Madrid, Spain.

Olive oil is consumed daily worldwide and is one of the fundamental pillars of the healthy Mediterranean diet, along with other foods such as fresh fruits, vegetables, legumes, seeds, moderate amounts of red wine, fish, and meat rich in unsaturated fats. It has been shown that the health benefits associated with olive oil consumption, as well as its relationship with a lower prevalence of vascular disease, obesity, arthritis, cancer, and age-associated cognitive decline, even extend to the onset of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). However, olive polyphenols, predominantly present in extra virgin olive oil (EVOO), are responsible for most of the health properties described so far, aside from unsaturated fatty acids and minor compounds.
AD is an irreversible neurodegenerative disorder characterized by progressive memory deficit and neuronal loss, whose prevalence increases from 65 years of age. Approximately 46.8 million people worldwide are affected by AD, and this figure is expected to triple by 2050. AD is characterized by irreversible memory loss, partly triggered by the formation of extracellular senile plaques, accumulations of amyloid β peptide (Aβ), and intracellular neurofibrillary tangles of hyperphosphorylated tau protein, which negatively affect synaptogenesis. Therefore, it is indispensable to design new strategies to prevent, mitigate, and/or delay AD development.
To date, population studies have shown that inhabitants of the Mediterranean region have a lower risk of developing AD and other age-associated disorders. Therefore, we have focused on analyzing the neuroprotective effect of polyphenols from EVOO, especially hydroxytyrosol, in AD, to emphasize that this food could be a possible therapeutic tool and treasure for the brain.