Introduction
Urinary tract infections are a very common clinical problem that are very gender specific, especially in women throughout their lifetime. Men become afflicted by urinary tract infections in the latter part of their years, mostly due to obstructive uropathy.
Nationally, over ten million medical office visits a year are related to urinary tract infections, and up to 6% of all visits by women to primary care physicians are related to urinary symptoms. Statistically in the United States, 50% of the total female population will experience at least one urinary tract infection in their lifetime, half of which will be bacterial in origin with painful urination.
Over 20% of women between the ages of 20 and 65 suffer one attach annually, and 2-4% of apparently healthy women who are asymptomatic have elevated levels of bacteria in the urine. Between the ages of 20 to 50, occurrence of urinary tract infections is 50 times greater in women than men. However, this gender gap narrows significantly after the age of 50.
Coliform bacteria cause 80 to 90% of all urinary tract infections with the leading bacterial cause being Escherichia coli (E. coli). Other bacterial causes are Staphylococcus Saprophyticus, Klebsiella Pneumoniae, Proteus spp and Enterococcus spp.
The presence of E. coli normally found in the rectal or peritoneal area performs several bio-supportive functions in the bowel. However, when displaced to the wrong areas, the tendency of E. coli is to imbed itself in the hosts GU system.
The symptoms of urinary tract infections are manifested in the host body attempting to rid itself of displaced E. coli. These symptoms may include painful, erratic and frequent bladder activity.
D – manose
D-Mannose is a natural occurring simple sugar that appears to offer a safe practical alternative for the treatment of urinary tract infections. D-Mannose is absorbed 8 times slower than glucose, and when ingested, is not converted to glycogen or stored in the liver, but rather goes directly to the blood stream from the upper gastrointestinal tract.
The greater part of D-Mannose is therefore immediately filtered through the kidneys and descends through the bladder. The bladder lining is comprised of polysaccharides, a form of glycoproteins or sugar molecules. When displaced E. coli bacteria is present in the bladder lining, finger-like projections of the E. coli adhere to these sugar molecules, imbedding in the bladder lining and initiating an infection.
In the presence of D-Mannose, certain bacteria including E. coli, exhibit a greater attraction to attach themselves to the D-Mannose molecule rather than to the mucous membrane of the bladder lining. Therefore, bacteria that are “Mannose positive” combine with Mannose to form a biochemical complex which is subsequently expelled with the next voiding.