The effects of Mediterranean diet on severity of disease and serum Total Antioxidant Capacity (TAC) in patients with Parkinson's disease: a single center, randomized controlled trial

Background: Parkinson's disease (PD) as one of the most common neurodegenerative disorders may be affected by healthy dietary pattern. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of the Mediterranean Diet (MeD) on serum Total Antioxidant Capacity (TAC) and disease severity in PD patients. Materials & Methods: In this single-center randomized clinical trial, patients with idiopathic PD (n = 80) were selected randomly allocated to either MeD or control group (Iranian traditional diet); an individualized dietary plan based on the MeD was designed. Serum TAC and the motor & non-motor disease aspects using the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) were evaluated in two groups. Statistical Analysis of data was performed using SPSS 24. Results: 70 PD patients with a mean age of 58.96 +/- 8.7 and UDPRS of 41.66 +/- 20.19 were analyzed in this study. MeD significantly increased serum TAC (P < 0.001). UPDRS score was also lowered in MeD group (P < 0.05). Conclusions: Mediterranean diet seems to have some benefits in PD. as well, TAC levels can also be affected by MeD. Anyway, further studies are needed to confirm the mentioned outcomes.