The Medical Benefits of Medicinal Leeches
Review Study
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.51699/ijbea.v3i3.6Keywords:
Medicinal Leeches, Hirudotherapy, ConditionsAbstract
Leeches that have been important in medicine historically are making a comeback in contemporary medicine because of their therapeutic advantages, particularly in the recovery period following microsurgery. Although leech salivary compounds have been extensively studied for their anticoagulant qualities and potential uses in venous diseases, there is still a lack of information about the overall health advantages of these compounds. In order to investigate these possible advantages and find further therapeutic uses, this review conducts a thorough literature analysis. According to the study, leech saliva contains more than 100 beneficial compounds, such as hirudin, which improves blood flow and inhibits blood clotting. These results point to the need for more research on the efficacy of leech therapy in the treatment of platelet dysfunction, delayed wound healing, and bleeding problems. This may have important ramifications for growing the therapeutic uses of leech therapy.
References
U. Wollina, B. Heinig, and A. Nowak, "Medical Leech Therapy (Hirudotherapy)," Our Dermatology Online, vol. 7, no. 1, pp. 91-96, 2016. DOI: https://doi.org/10.7241/ourd.20161.24
K. Y. Marquez-Gil, E. Mesa, N. Kouka, I. Fonarov, and D. Casadesus, "Medicinal Leeches to Aid in Post-Procedural Hematoma Evacuation," Cureus, vol. 15, no. 8, e43338, 2023. DOI: https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.43338
J. M. Elliott and U. Kutschera, "Medicinal Leeches: Historical Use, Ecology, Genetics and Conservation," Freshwater Reviews, vol. 4, no. 1, pp. 21-41, 2011. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1608/FRJ-4.1.417
A. Bergh, I. Lund, A. Boström, H. Hyytiäinen, and K. Asplund, "A Systematic Review of Complementary and Al-ternative Veterinary Medicine: 'Miscellaneous Therapies'," Animals, vol. 11, no. 12, p. 3356, 2021. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/ani11123356
K. M. Williams, M. Barkdull, M. Fahmy, E. Hekkala, M. E. Siddall, and S. Kvist, "Caught Red-Handed: iDNA Points to Wild Source for CITES-Protected Contraband Leeches," European Journal of Wildlife Research, vol. 66, no. 5, pp. 1-10, 2020. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10344-020-01419-5
J. N. Marden, E. A. McClure, L. Beka, and J. Graf, "Host Matters: Medicinal Leech Digestive-Tract Symbionts and Their Pathogenic Potential," Frontiers in Microbiology, vol. 7, p. 1569, 2016. doi:10.3389/fmicb.2016.01569. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2016.01569
A. K. Sig, M. Guney, A. U. Guclu, and E. Ozmen, "Medicinal Leech Therapy—An Overall Perspective," Integrative Medicine Research, vol. 6, no. 4, pp. 337-343, 2017. doi:10.1016/j.imr.2017.08.001. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.imr.2017.08.001
C. Herlin, N. Bertheuil, F. Bekara, F. Boissiere, R. Sinna, and B. Chaput, "Leech Therapy in Flap Salvage: Systematic Review and Practical Recommendations," Annales de Chirurgie Plastique Esthétique, vol. 62, no. 2, pp. e1-e13, 2017. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anplas.2016.06.004
M. Ceylan and O. Çetinkaya, "Investigation on the Collection and Economy of Medicinal Leeches From Wetlands Around Lake Eğirdir, Turkey," Türkiye Parazitoloji Dergisi, vol. 41, no. 2, pp. 96-103, 2017. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5152/tpd.2017.5150
H. Wang, F. M. Meng, S. J. Jin, J. W. Gao, X. R. Tong, and Z. C. Liu, "A New Species of Medicinal Leech in the Genus Hirudo Linnaeus, 1758 (Hirudiniformes, Hirudinidae) From Tianjin City, China," ZooKeys, no. 1095, pp. 1-13, 2022. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1095.74071
M. Grassberger, R. A. Sherman, O. Gileva, C. M. H. Kim, and K. Y. Mumcuoglu, Eds., Biotherapy—History, Principles and Practice: A Practical Guide to the Diagnosis and Treatment of Disease Using Living Organisms, Springer, Heidelberg, Germany, 2013. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-6585-6
C. R. Hartrampf Jr., L. Drazan, and R. T. Noel, "A Mechanical Leech for Transverse Rectus Abdominis Musculocu-taneous Flaps," Annals of Plastic Surgery, vol. 31, no. 2, pp. 103-105, 1993. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1097/00000637-199308000-00002
J. L. Frodel Jr., P. Barth, and J. Wagner, "Salvage of Partial Facial Soft Tissue Avulsions With Medicinal Leeches," Otolaryngology, vol. 131, no. 6, pp. 934-939, 2004. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.otohns.2004.07.005
Y. C. Chen, F. C. Chan, C. C. Hsu, Y. T. Lin, C. T. Chen, and C. H. Lin, "Fingertip Replantation Without Venous Anastomosis," Annals of Plastic Surgery, vol. 70, pp. 284-288, 2013. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1097/SAP.0b013e3182321b81
E. Vural and J. M. Key, "Complications, Salvage, and Enhancement of Local Flaps in Facial Reconstruction," Oto-laryngologic Clinics of North America, vol. 34, no. 4, pp. 739-751, 2001. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0030-6665(05)70016-5
I. S. Whitaker, D. Izadi, D. W. Oliver, G. Monteath, and P. E. Butler, "Hirudo Medicinalis and the Plastic Surgeon," British Journal of Plastic Surgery, vol. 57, no. 4, pp. 348-353, 2004. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bjps.2003.12.016
K. Y. Mumcuoglu, L. Huberman, R. Cohen, et al., "Elimination of Symbiotic Aeromonas spp. From the Intestinal Tract of the Medicinal Leech, Hirudo Medicinalis, Using Ciprofloxacin Feeding," Clinical Microbiology and Infection, vol. 16, no. 6, pp. 563-567, 2010. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-0691.2009.02868.x
M. Q. Nguyen, M. A. Crosby, R. J. Skoracki, and M. M. Hanasono, "Outcomes of Flap Salvage With Medicinal Leech Therapy," Microsurgery, vol. 32, no. 5, pp. 351-357, 2012. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/micr.21960
K. Y. Mumcuoglu, C. Pidhorz, R. Cohen, A. Ofek, and H. A. Lipton, "The Use of the Medicinal Leech, Hirudo Me-dicinalis, in Reconstructive Plastic Surgery," The Internet Journal of Plastic Surgery, vol. 4, no. 2, 2007. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5580/3c6
I. S. Whitaker, C. K. Cheung, C. A. Chahal, A. G. Karoo, and I. T. Foo, "By What Mechanism Do Leeches Help to Salvage Ischemic Tissues? A Review," British Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, vol. 43, no. 2, pp. 155-160, 2005. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bjoms.2004.09.012
A. B. Weinfeld, E. Yuksel, S. Boutras, D. H. Gura, M. Akyurek, and J. D. Friedman, "Clinical and Scientific Consid-erations in Leech Therapy for the Management of Acute Venous Congestion: An Updated Review," Annals of Plastic Surgery, vol. 45, no. 2, pp. 207-212, 2000. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1097/00000637-200045020-00021
J. Baudet, "The Use of Leeches in Distal Digital Replantation," Blood Coagulation and Fibrinolysis, vol. 2, no. 1, pp. 193-196, 1991. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1097/00001721-199102000-00030
J. Hand Surg Am, "Salvage of Ischemic Tissues With Leech Therapy," Journal of Hand Surgery, vol. 43, no. 10, pp. 949.e1-e5, 2018. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhsa.2018.02.018
A. Shakouri and U. Wollina, "Time to Change Theory; Medical Leech From Molecular Medicine Perspective: Leech Salivary Proteins Playing a Potential Role in Medicine," Advanced Pharmaceutical Bulletin, vol. 11, pp. 261-266, 2021. doi:10.34172/apb.2021.038. DOI: https://doi.org/10.34172/apb.2021.038
M. Pourrahimi, M. Abdi, and R. Ghods, "Complications of Leech Therapy," Avicenna Journal of Phytomedicine, vol. 10, pp. 222-234, 2020.
D. B. Chepeha, B. Nussenbaum, C. R. Bradford, and T. N. Teknos, "Leech Therapy for Patients With Surgically Un-salvageable Venous Obstruction After Revascularized Free Tissue Transfer," Archives of Otolaryngology, vol. 128, no. 8, pp. 960-965, 2002. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1001/archotol.128.8.960
A. Fradkov, S. Berezhnoy, E. Barsova, L. Zavalova, S. Lukyanov, and I. Baskova, et al., "Enzyme From the Medicinal Leech (Hirudo Medicinalis) That Specifically Splits Endo-Epsilon(-Gamma-Glu)-Lys Isopeptide Bonds: cDNA Cloning and Protein Primary Structure," FEBS Letters, vol. 390, no. 2, pp. 145-148, 1996. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/0014-5793(96)00644-8
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2024 Muna Hashim Ghazzay, Emad Sadiq Ali Al-Hilli
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.