Ketika sirkulasi darah dalam tubuh dari jantung terhambat, kemungkinan timbulnya serangan jantung akan meningkat. Apabila hal ini tidak ditangani secara tepat dan cepat maka jantung akan kekurangan oksigen yang menyebabkan otot jantung berhenti berkerja. Oleh karena itu Pasien pengidap coronary thrombosis (penyumbatan arteri akibat penggumpalan darah) secara rutin diberikan obat pengencer darah seperti aspirin atau heparin untuk mencegah serangan jantung lebih lanjut. Tapi resiko tetap masih besar karena sayangnya penanganan dengan metode tersebut tidak 100% efektif.

Peneliti dari Rumah Sakit Green Lane, Acukland, Selandia Baru mengadakan penelitian tentang masalah ini. Mereka telah meneliti keefektifan penggunaan obat baru yaitu Bivaldurin untuk penanganan penyakit coronary thrombosis melalui serangkain percobaan. Menariknya, Bivalrudin adalah bentuk lain dari Enzym Hirudin yang terkandung dalam aiur liur lintah. Bivalrudin mengandung effect anti-coagulant yang permanen dan mengurangi kemungkinan serangan jantung sampai dengan 33,%. Pengobatan dengan enzym yang terkandung dalam lintah ini diketahui 30% lebih efektif daripada penggunaan Heparin.

Penelitian tersebut berdasarkan percobaan atas sejumlah 17.000 pasien pasien pengidap coronary thrombosis, yang dikelompokan menjadi 2 (dua) kelompok. Satu kelompok pertama diberikan Heparin, sedangkan kelompok lain diberikan Bivaldurin.

Harvey White, Imuwan dan Peneliti dari Rumah Sakit Green Lane menjelaskan, bahwa dari seribu pasien yang diberikan Bivaldurin dalam 30 hari setelah terkena serangan jantung, terdapat lebih sedikit kasus pasien mengalami serangan jantung lanjutan dari pada pasien yang diberikan Heparin.

(Sumber: http://www.oval-film.com/ekelhaftgesund/engl/blutegel/studien.htm)

The Nature has its own way of curing everything…

—————————————-
Artikel Aslinya dengan judul yang sama

Green Lane Hospital:
Can active ingredients in leech saliva protect against heart attack?

When the circulation of blood is blocked from the heart, heart attack may occur quickly. If this isn’t treated correctly and swiftly, an oxygen deficiency may occur and consequently the muscles of the heart can die. Patients with coronary thromboses are therefore routinely treated with a blood-thinning agent such as Aspirin or Heparin to avoid further attacks. Still, the danger is there: The treatment is unfortunately not 100 per cent effective.

New Zealand researchers at the Green Lane Hospital in Auckland are working on this problem. They have surveyed the effectiveness of a new medication called Bivaldurin through clinical trials. Interestingly, this substance is a genetically altered form of the enzyme Hirudin, found in leech saliva. Bivaldurin has a lasting anti-coagulant effect and reduces the likelihood of another heart attack by one third. This leech saliva enzyme-based medication has been found to be 30 per cent more effective than the conventionally used Heparin.

The study was based on clinical trials of 17,000 patients. One group of post-coronary patients was given Heparin and another group was given Bivaldurin. The question was how many patients would later suffer a further heart attack.

“Of a thousand patients who received Bivaldurin within 30 days of their heart attack, there were far fewer cases of later coronary incidents than with the patients treated with Heparin,” explains research scientist Harvey White from Green Lane Hospital.

(http://www.oval-film.com/ekelhaftgesund/engl/blutegel/studien.htm)

Bugs and parasites are making a comeback into modern medicine, and although they have been used as a means of therapy for thousands of years, they lost their popularity in the second half of the 20th century only to regain their previous status as medical wonders during the 1980s. Two such parasites used today are leeches and maggots. As gruesome as both are conceived, they have been found to possess numerous advantages in the field of medicine.

The Practice of Leeching Throughout History

The use of leeches in medicine dates as far back as 2,500 years ago when they were used for bloodletting in ancient Egypt. All ancient civilizations practiced bloodletting including Indian and Greek civilizations. In ancient Greek history, bloodletting was practiced according to the humoral theory, which proposed that when the four humors, blood, phlegm, black and yellow bile in the human body were in balance, good health was guaranteed. An unbalance in the proportions of these humors was believed to be the cause of ill health. Records of this theory were found in the Greek philosopher Hippocrates’ collection in the fifth century B.C. Bloodletting using leeches was one method used by physicians to balance the humors and to rid the body of the plethora.

In medieval Europe, a number of superstitious ideas and religious philosophies started to influence the practice of bloodletting. The practice continued on up until the 19th century. In 1833, bloodletting became so popular in Europe, that the commercial trade in leeches became a major industry. France, suffering a deficiency, had to import 41.5 million leeches. The medicinal leech almost became extinct in Europe due to the extremely high demand for them. Leeches were collected in a particularly creepy way. Leech collectors would wade in leech infested waters allowing the leeches to attach themselves to the collector’s legs. In this way as many as 2,500 leeches could be gathered per day. When the numbers became insufficient, the French and Germans started the practice of leech farming. Elderly horses were used as leech feed where they would be sent into the water and would later die of blood loss.

Leeches were thought to be able to cure everything from headaches to brain congestion. They were used to cure obesity, hemorrhoids, nephritis, laryngitis, eye disorders as well as mental illness. Their use continued on until the 1960s when their use in medicine was discontinued.

Leeches in Modern Medicine

The use of leeches in medicine, otherwise known as Hirudotherapy, made its comeback in the 1980s after years of decline, with the advent of microsurgery such as plastic and reconstructive surgeries. In operations such as these, one of the biggest problems that arises is venous congestion due to inefficient venous drainage. This condition is known as venous insufficiency. If this congestion is not cleared up quickly, the blood will clot and arteries that bring the tissues their necessary nourishment will become plugged and the tissues will die. It is here where the leeches come in handy. After being applied to the required site, they suck the excess blood, reducing the swelling in the tissues and promoting healing by allowing fresh, oxygenated blood to reach the area until normal circulation can be restored. The leeches also secrete an anticoagulant (known as hirudin) that prevents the clotting of the blood.

The leech’s saliva is truly extraordinary containing a number of chemical compounds useful in medicine. These include a local anesthetic that the leech uses to avoid detection by the host, the anti-coagulant hirudin that can help prevent heart attacks and strokes, a vasodilator and a prostaglandin that help reduce swelling. The leech’s gut harbors a bacterium known as Aeromonan hydrophila. This bacterium aids in the digestion of ingested blood and produces an antibiotic that kills other bacteria that may cause putrefaction.

Not only are leeches economically beneficial costing as little as $4.75 to $6.50 apiece, but studies have shown that Hirudotherapy doubles the success rate of transplanted tissue flaps. This is a much higher success rate than that brought on by drugs or further surgery.

Hirudotherapy has proven to be useful for a number of other conditions including cardiovascular disease, ophthalmology and dermatology. Hirudin is also used in the treatment of inflammation of the middle ear. Osteoarthritis, which is a painful condition of the knee, is also thought to benefit from leeching. Studies performed by researchers from the Essen-Mitte Clinic in Germany have shown that when leeches were applied to the knees of patients with osteoarthritis, they helped to alleviate the inflammation and pain associated with the condition.

The hazards associated with leech therapy include infection, excess blood loss that may require blood transfusion, the loss of leeches in body orifices and spaces, and allergic reactions. Some patients find the use of leeches disgusting, which makes it necessary that they have basic information on the benefit of leeches before the procedure. The secretion of a local anesthetic by the leech makes the procedure painless except for the initial attachment phase. They fall off promptly after they have completed feeding.

Scientists at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have developed a mechanical leech as an alternative to real leeches. The synthetic leech mimics the action of the leech allowing for fresh blood to flow through the wound, but unlike the leech, it is insatiable and can continue to remove blood for as long as is needed whereas the leech only feeds for about half an hour.

Maggots a Good Thing?

Maggots are now once again gaining respect in the medical field. Their use even has a name, maggot debridement therapy or MDT. Maggots are efficient healers of wounds. This was recognized centuries ago when wounded soldiers whose wounds were infested with maggots healed better than those that were not infested. The reason for this is that the maggots used for this purpose eat dead tissues and leave the healthy, living tissues alone. They also excrete substances which inhibit and may even kill bacteria. This is especially useful in areas with poor blood supply that do not benefit much from antibiotics that cannot reach the area in adequate concentration to do their job.

Maggots have been known for their healing ability since the 16th century. Maggot therapy continued until the 1930s when their use in therapy was so common that over 300 hospitals in the US alone were using them. In the 1940s antibiotic therapy and surgical techniques replaced the use of maggots. Their superiority in certain cases to antibiotics was realized in 1989 when they were recognized to be more efficient cleaners of wounds than any other non-surgical treatment.
Not all maggots can be used in medicine; only those that do not burrow under the patient’s skin and do not eat healthy tissues can be used. They do not multiply in the wound as they must leave it to pupate or they will die. When the maggots have completed their job, the doctor simply flushes them out of the wound. The maggots range from 1 to 2 mm in length when they are one day old and they reach a length of about 1 cm by their fourth day.

In order to ensure their sterility, scientists have developed techniques to farm maggots for medical use. The cost of maggot therapy is typically half as much as conventional therapy making it a very cost effective procedure. The only disadvantage of this type of therapy other than the yuck factor is the tickling sensation felt by some patients.

http://www.scienceinafrica.co.za/2003/july/leech.htm

With  8 leeches the blutverlust for the patient is including to the Nachbluten with approx. 200 to 350 ml blood. “a small leech sucks 2g – the quantity doubles itself 3 g, more largely to 30 g, on average by the postoperative hemorrhage. Generally one counts on an average value of 20 – is limited 30 g total blood loss per leech and to setting 4 – 12 copies in a meeting ”

Does a leech bite cause pain?
The bite of a leech is felt by the patients like 2-3 mosquito bites.So the bite of the leech is not painful. The leech saliva is filled with a chemical that contains a painkiller, which stops you from feeling the bite. The saliva also has a chemical, which keeps the blood from clotting.

In which diseases can leeches help?
Thanks to its blood-diluting and container-extending effect the leech is the ideal therapist for blood circulation disturbances.Usually  unsatisfactory blood circulation is connected with diseases such as: Thrombose, cramp veins, Haemorrhoiden, cardiac infarct, impact accumulations, calcifying the containers, Tinnitus.
Positive effects could be determined with rheumatism, Arthrose, volume disk problems, pulling, bruises, muscular pains or muscle injuries.

How can I accomplish the leech therapy?
1. Wash hands.
2. Select appropriate personal protective equipment (gloves).
3. Cleanse area with normal saline soaked sterile gauze.
4.  Apply leeches with gloved hand on tweezers.
5. Allow leech to attach large posterior end first and direct smaller head end to the desired site. ( Leeches can be loaded into an empty syringe without a plunger “rear end first” and the open end of syringe is placed over the desired site to ensure proper placement. )
6. Apply the other leeches if neseseary.
7. Monitor leeches until they fill with blood (10-20  minutes). Usually  the leech falls off itself (if not use salt. Leeches do not like salt and will drop off)

Why does a leech sometimes not want to bite?
With certain site conditions leech bite more badly:
* with cold skin
* with smokers
* with perfume-pure
* with older humans

Remedy is possible through warming up and cleaning the skin. Further measures those are helpful the skin soften and the blood circulation promote. If the leech does not want to bite at all, there is the possibility the skin with a needle to puncture still.

Are there side effects?
With the right execution of leech therapy and attention of all contraindications heavy side effects arise very rarely. Local reactions are possible in the proximity of the point of the bite.Also, cycle weakness occurs relatively more frequently.

In which other cases can leeches be used?
Leeches can relieve blood pooling around a muscle or skin flap better than drugs or other treatments. They are used to keep the blood flow in muscle, skin and fat tissue that has been surgically moved from one part of your body to another. These tissues are also called flaps

Why is leech therapy used instead of other medical treatment?
In some cases, leeches do a better job by removing pooled blood than any other medical therapy.

What are the benefits of leech therapy?
The benefits of leech therapy are not only the amount of blood that the leech removes: It is the anti-blood clotting enzymes in their saliva that allow blood flow from the area where they have been.

Why do some people reject using leeches ?
Many people are afraid of these creatures crawling on their body and biting them.

http://www.leeches.biz/leech-therapy.htm