Sig Ali K, Guney Mustafa, Uskudar Guclu Aylin, Ozmen Erkan
Erzurum Public Health Laboratory, Public Health Institution of Turkey, Erzurum, Turkey.
Department of Medical Microbiology, Gulhane Medical Faculty, University of Health Sciences, Ankara, Turkey.
Integr Med Res. 2017 Dec;6(4):337-343. doi: 10.1016/j.imr.2017.08.001. Epub 2017 Aug 10.
Complementary medicine methods have a long history, but modern medicine has just recently focused on their possible modes of action. 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. has widest therapeutic usage among the leeches, but worldwide, many different species were tested and studied. Leeches secrete more than 20 identified bioactive substances such as antistasin, eglins, guamerin, hirudin, saratin, bdellins, complement, and carboxypeptidase inhibitors. 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. The technique is cheap, effective, easy to apply, and its modes of action have been elucidated for certain diseases. In conclusion, for treatment of some diseases, MLT is not an alternative, but is a complementary and/or integrative choice. MLT is a part of multidisciplinary treatments, and secretes various bioactive substances. These substances vary among species and different species should be evaluated for both treatment capability and their particular secreted molecules. There is huge potential for novel substances and these could be future therapeutics.
补充医学方法历史悠久，但现代医学直到最近才开始关注其可能的作用方式。药用蚂蟥疗法（MLT）或水蛭疗法是一种古老的技术，许多研究人员对其在各种疾病（如炎症性疾病、骨关节炎以及不同手术后）可能产生的影响进行了研究。在水蛭种类中，[此处原文缺失相关信息]具有最广泛的治疗用途，但在全球范围内，许多不同种类都经过了测试和研究。水蛭分泌超过20种已确定的生物活性物质，如抗凝血酶抑制素、依林、瓜美林、水蛭素、沙瑞汀、蛭肽、补体和羧肽酶抑制剂。它们具有镇痛、抗炎、抑制血小板、抗凝和调节凝血酶的功能，以及细胞外基质降解和抗菌作用，但随着进一步研究，其作用范围可能会扩大。该技术成本低廉、效果显著、易于应用，并且其作用方式已在某些疾病中得到阐明。总之，对于某些疾病的治疗，MLT不是一种替代方法，而是一种补充和/或综合选择。MLT是多学科治疗的一部分，并且会分泌各种生物活性物质。这些物质因物种而异，不同物种应在治疗能力及其特定分泌分子方面进行评估。新型物质具有巨大潜力，这些可能成为未来的治疗方法。
