Soccertese, thanks for raising this topic.

Based on epidemiological evidence Gao et al. [1] put the relative risk of developing PD, for the quintile most strongly on a prudent (Mediterranean) diet as 0.78.

I think it may be interesting to investigate whether there are any linkages between the Mediterranian diet and alpha-synuclein.

Caruana and Vassallo write [2]

"Cumulative evidence now suggests that the abnormal aggregation of the neuronal protein alpha-synuclein is critically involved in the pathogenesis of synucleinopathies, of which Parkinson’s disease (PD) is the most prevalent."

"several polyphenols counteract the cytotoxic properties of alpha-synuclein aggregates directly in a cellular context"

"Polyphenolic compounds are naturally-present constituents of a wide variety of fruits, vegetables, food products and beverages derived from plants such
as olive oil, tea, and red wine."

Tag johnt:alpha-synuclein

[1] "Prospective study of dietary pattern and risk of Parkinson disease"
Xiang Gao, Honglei Chen, Teresa T Fung, Giancarlo Logroscino, Michael A Schwarzschild, Frank B Hu, and Alberto Ascherio
The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2007
http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/86/5/1486.full

[2] "The potenial role of dietary polyphenols in Parkinson's disease"
Caruana M., Vassallo N.
Malta Medical Journal, 23.03, 2011
http://www.um.edu.mt/umms/mmj/PDF/334.pdf

John