MLT has been used for centuries and the term leech was provided from the word “laece” (physician).
LEECH DEFINITION SKIN
One or more leeches are attached to the skin of problematic area and the purpose is to gain potential utilities of leech saliva that is secreted while the leeches are feeding. Medicinal leech therapy (MLT) or hirudotherapy is a kind of complementary and integrative treatment method applied with blood-sucking leeches. There is huge potential for novel substances and these could be future therapeutics. These substances vary among species and different species should be evaluated for both treatment capability and their particular secreted molecules. MLT is a part of multidisciplinary treatments, and secretes various bioactive substances. In conclusion, for treatment of some diseases, MLT is not an alternative, but is a complementary and/or integrative choice. The technique is cheap, effective, easy to apply, and its modes of action have been elucidated for certain diseases. They have analgesic, anti-inflammatory, platelet inhibitory, anticoagulant, and thrombin regulatory functions, as well as extracellular matrix degradative and antimicrobial effects, but with further studies, the spectrum of effects may widen. Leeches secrete more than 20 identified bioactive substances such as antistasin, eglins, guamerin, hirudin, saratin, bdellins, complement, and carboxypeptidase inhibitors. Hirudo medicinalis has widest therapeutic usage among the leeches, but worldwide, many different species were tested and studied. Medicinal leech therapy (MLT) or hirudotherapy, an old technique, has been studied by many researchers for possible effects on various diseases such as inflammatory diseases, osteoarthritis, and after different surgeries. Complementary medicine methods have a long history, but modern medicine has just recently focused on their possible modes of action.
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