How to stop a urinary tract infection from turning into dementia

A very odd thing sometimes happens when older people get a urinary tract infection. A UTI can affect their brain function, causing them to become confused, delirious and paranoid, often with behaviour changes. The connection between urinary tract and brain is not immediately apparent.

If you have a UTI, you will typically experience frequent urination, usually with pain and a burning sensation. As you get older you are more likely to experience symptoms that affect the brain.

Also, the older you are, the greater the chances of developing a UTI. It’s the third leading cause of infection-related hospitalisation and a major risk factor for sepsis and death. It is the most commonly diagnosed infection in care home residents.

About 75% of UTI cases are caused by the bacteria uropathogenic Eschericha Coli (UPEC). UPEC proliferates in the urinary tract, but that is not where its life begins.

UPEC, like other bacteria that can cause a UTI, normally cohabits in the gut with all the other assorted microorganisms. It turns into a troublemaker when it translocates from gut to urinary tract.

How do these pathogenic bacteria get there? It’s surprisingly easy when gut security is poor.

The gut microbiota is the parallel universe of microscopic life that makes your colon its home. This dark, busy underworld consists of trillions of bacteria, fungi, viruses, and protozoa. When all is well and harmonious in this kingdom, these microorganisms form part of your immune system. They are critical to the control of the pathogenic bacteria might try to start an infection.

But when the system fails, pathogens take full advantage of a weak defence, and begin to proliferate unimpeded. When they do, they create a situation called dysbiosis.

Gut dysbiosis and its relationship to UTIs and brain function is emerging as a key area of interest in research.

Dysbiosis can compromise the gut barrier, leading to intestinal permeability, aka leaky gut. Bacteria and their toxic metabolites breach the barrier, enter the blood and find suitable locations to trigger infection and inflammation.

‘Changes in the older adult urinary microbiome, including loss of diversity or dysbiosis, may allow potentially pathogenic organisms to colonize the urinary tract and lead to the development of UTI.’

The urinary tract is not a sterile environment, even when there is no infection present. It has its own microbiome, believed to influence the health of the urinary tract.

This is where the brain comes in.