Abstract
Severe motor and intellectual disabilities (SMID) secondary to central nervous system damage of any cause during childhood are associated with various complex problems including chronic pyuria and constipation. These problems are often difficult to control. Given that the preventive effects of cranberry juice (CJ) on recurrent urinary tract infection have been reported and CJ, as a source of antioxidants, has been suggested to have various beneficial effects, we hypothesized that CJ may have potential in ameliorating the complex health problems in SMID. The aim of the study was to investigate the possible beneficial effects of 100% CJ on SMID patients. Hospitalized SMID patients (male = 9; female = 4; mean age = 46.0±16.1 years) with chronic pyuria and bacteriuria were enrolled in the study. Cranberry juice (300 ml; 100%) was administered daily for 8 weeks between January 2010 and March 2010. We analyzed the effect of CJ on pyuria, bowel movements, and serum oxidative/antioxidative status. The primary outcome was reduction of pyuria. All 13 patients completed the study. At entry, proteinuria, hematuria, urinary lithiasis were found in 61.5%, 23.0%, and 46.2% of the patients, respectively. Daily ingestion of 100% CJ did not reduce pyuria or bacteriuria during the intervention period of 8 weeks. However, the number of defecations during the study period was significantly increased from the pre-intervention period without increasing the frequency of diarrhea. Serum diacron-reactive oxygen metabolites, as a marker of oxidative stress, were decreased at 8, 12, and 16 weeks after the administration of CJ compared with pre-intervention levels. CJ did not have any effect on serum biological antioxidant potential levels. Adverse events such as weight gain, hyperglycemia, hypercholesterolemia, hypertriglycemia, bleeding tendency, or urinary lithiasis were not observed. The conclusions were that daily ingestion of 300 ml of 100% CJ did not ameliorate pyuria in patients with SMID, however, dietary CJ might be a safe alternative remedy for constipation and high oxidative stress in patients with SMID.
