HIRUDOTHERAPY [Treatment with Leeches]

Hirudotherapy [from the Latin hirudo-leech] is known since ancient times and has been considered as a necessary remedy in treatment for different diseases.

Leeches have been used in medicine for over 2,000 years and to fully understand why leech therapy works in such a wide range of applications, it's important to appreciate that the therapeutic activity of leech therapy is not based on a single mechanism of action, but on a combination of multiple effects. The leech is equipped with an extremely sensitive nervous system, which it uses to inspect the host and the host's blood.

The secret of salivary glands of medical leeches
Leech saliva contains more than 100 bioactive substances. One of the first to be recognised was hirudin, the substance oppressing the process of blood clotting. Also recognised are bacteriostatic [bacteria-inhibiting substance], analgesic [pain reliever] and resolving actions. Their saliva eliminates microcirculation disorders, restores damaged vascular permeability of tissues and organs, eliminates hypoxia [oxygen starvation], reduces blood pressure, increases immune system activity, detoxifies the organism, where it's released from threatening complications, such as infarct [an area of tissue that has recently died as a result of the sudden loss of its blood supply, e.g. following a blockage of an artery by a blood clot], strokes and improves the bioenergetics status of the organism.

Leeches in today's treatments

Hirudotherapy is still widely used today as a natural treatment for many areas, such as diseases of the vessels, heart and chronic nonspecific diseases of lungs leading to heart and liver incompetence.

Uses in microsurgery
Leeches are also being increasingly used with microsurgery, especially following re-plantation or transplantation of a severed body part. Leeches prevent painful swelling and blood clotting, not only by draining off fluid, but also by secreting an anesthetic to ease the pain and anticoagulants to reduce clotting.

There are also reports that medical researchers studying leeches have found their saliva contains a host of other desirable substances, including antibiotics and possible anti-cancer agents. They are also increasingly being used in neuroscience research.

Cardiovascular disease

First of all, it's important to establish an understanding of 'cardiovascular disease'. It's a term used for a number of diseases that affect the heart itself and/or the blood vessel system, especially the veins and arteries leading to and from the heart.

This disease has been a main indication for leech therapy for centuries. In the first half of the 20th century, it was normal for leeches to be applied for treatment of strokes and heart attacks. The underlying mechanisms involved are the complete anticoagulative effects of hirudin and the stimulation of segmental reflex mechanisms by the leech bite.

Photos showing a few treatments for Cardiovascular disease

Expelled blood from leeches after therapy for cardiovascular disease

Leeches

Blood has been expelled from two leeches after treatment for a known artery narrowing.

This shows a very healthy light red blood, as well as a darker coloured blood which was much thicker in consistency.

Blood expelled from the same person in an area without an artery narrowing was of the lighter colour and flowed easily.

View Mehdi's medical results

- Results 1
- Results 2
- Results 3