The C.A.M. Report
Complementary and Alternative Medicine: Fair, Balanced, and to the Point
  • About this web log

    This blog ran from 2006 to 2016 and was intended as an objective and dispassionate source of information on the latest CAM research. Since my background is in pharmacy and allopathic medicine, I view all CAM as advancing through the development pipeline to eventually become integrated into mainstream medical practice. Some will succeed while others fail. But all are treated fairly here.

  • About the author

    John Russo, Jr., PharmD, is president of The MedCom Resource, Inc. Previously, he was senior vice president of medical communications at www.Vicus.com, a complementary and alternative medicine website.

  • Common sense considerations

    The material on this weblog is for informational purposes. It is not medical advice or counsel. Be smart, consult your health professional before using CAM.

  • Recent Posts

  • Recent Comments

    How do cranberries prevent urinary tract infection?

    Researchers from Worcester Polytechnic Institute, in Massachusetts went into the lab to seek the answer.

    First, the details.

    • Atomic force microscopy was used to study the adhesion forces between Escherichia coli and a model surface (silicon nitride).
    • The objective was to determine the effect of cranberry products to change the ability of bacterial to adhere to the surface.
    • Bacteria were grown in tryptic soy broth supplemented with either light cranberry juice cocktail or cranberry proanthocyanidins (PACs; have antioxidant properties).

    And, the results.

    • Longer exposure of the bacteria to either the cranberry juice or the PACs resulted in a greater decrease in bacterial attachment to the surface.

    The bottom line?
    Assuming that silicon nitride is appropriate for this research, the results indicate that chemicals present in cranberries — and not the acidity of cranberry juice, as previously thought — prevent infection-causing bacteria from attaching to the cells that line the urinary tract.

    Studies in patients supporting the use of cranberries are summarized here, here, here, and here.

    3/12/09 20:56 JR

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