Biotherapy is the use of living animals to aid in medical diagnosis or treatment. Medicinal leeches perform biotherapy with the use of their anterior sucker. Depending on the wound size, a doctor might apply anywhere from one to six leeches. Leeches are commonly used to remove bad blood from the system likely containing diseases but there is a large range of other tasks these little blood suckers can perform. Leeches are well established as a treatment for venous congestion of tissue flaps, grafts and replants. They are also routinely used to drain blood from swollen faces, limbs and digits after reconstructive surgery. Although leech techniques were more common in the earlier ages, there are still some studies today explaining how Hirudo medicinalis are a better fit for disease treatment.
Medicinal Leech Therapy (MLT)
Leech therapy can be an excellent alternative for the treatment of venous congestion in free flaps, pedicled flaps, and replanted tissues (Elyassi, Terres, and Rowshan). Although a standard leech therapy protocol does not exist, the doctors use there digression depending on the size of the wound. Another form of medicinal leech therapy is for Osteoarthritis disease. Osteoarthritis most commonly affects cartilage by breaking down the top layer of cartilage creating joint disorder. Leech therapy has gained greater attention as a treatment for this disease because the NSAIDs, the main drugs of choice, have lots of side effects and therefore are not safe for long- term therapy. In comparison, leech saliva does not have long term effects. The saliva contains some anesthetic substances which help decrease the symptoms such as pain and tenderness. Bdelllins and eglins which are also contained in leech saliva are anti-inflammatory substances which are helpful in reduction of inflammation. When the inflammation of the joint decreases, pain also decreases; therefore the restriction of the joint also decreases (Rai PK, Singh AK, Dwivedi, Singh OP, and Rai NP 2: 213-7). Some treatments have shown leech therapy to be effective in knee and metacarpal osteoarthritis. Leech therapy has also been successfully applied to treat sever lumbar pain due to cancer. These effects also correlate to the substances in the leech salvia such as histamine- like vasodilators, kallikrein and typtase inhibitors ( Nouri, Karimi- Yarandi, Etezadi and Amirjamshidi 159).
Due to the advancement of treatments, bloodletting and medicinal leech therapy look ineffective. However, in medically high-risk/aged patients and those sacred of surgery, leech therapy is the less aggressive alternative ( Nouri, Karimi- Yarandi, Etezadi and Amirjamshidi 159). Medicinal leech treatments are still being investigated but time and again it is the leeches' salvia that makes doctors and patients come back biting for more.
Due to the advancement of treatments, bloodletting and medicinal leech therapy look ineffective. However, in medically high-risk/aged patients and those sacred of surgery, leech therapy is the less aggressive alternative ( Nouri, Karimi- Yarandi, Etezadi and Amirjamshidi 159). Medicinal leech treatments are still being investigated but time and again it is the leeches' salvia that makes doctors and patients come back biting for more.