Koeppen Detlev, Aurich Michael, Pasalar Mehdi, Rampp Thomas
Biebertaler Blutegelzucht GmbH, Talweg 31, D-35444, Biebertal, Germany.
Research Center for Traditional Medicine and History of Medicine, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran.
J Tradit Complement Med. 2019 Aug 3;10(2):104-109. doi: 10.1016/j.jtcme.2019.08.003. eCollection 2020 Mar.
The use of medicinal leech therapy (MLT) is the subject of many articles describing basic pharmacological principles, application procedures, or efficacy and safety of the broad range of therapeutic indications. This review is focused on the information gap between Eastern and Western medicine when medicinal leech therapy is used in wound healing. Impaired wound healing has serious consequences for patients' health in a variety of clinical conditions. Western, Persian and Indian medicine seem to apply different therapeutic approaches when using medicinal leech therapy for healing wounds. A range of review articles, single case reports and case series on the use of medicinal leech therapy in wound healing have been inspected. The various reports indicate that medicinal leech therapy has potential benefits for patients experiencing venous congestion of the skin and tissues, as well as varied types of ulcers. Such therapy is proven to have thrombolytic, anti-coagulant, blood and lymph enhancing, anti-inflammatory and pain-relieving effects. The specifics of these approaches are expected to stimulate further research on the use of medicinal leech therapy in wound healing. Although the use of medicinal leech therapy to relieve venous congestion following reconstructive and plastic surgery is well-known in Western medicine, its use in promoting wound healing in various ulcer forms, in the context of Ayurveda/Unani/Persian medicine, seems largely restricted to Asian- and Arabic spheres. The true value of medicinal leech therapy in wound healing should be elucidated by further investigations applying modern, evidence-based research methods.
药用蚂蟥疗法（MLT）的应用是许多文章的主题，这些文章描述了其基本药理原理、应用程序，或广泛治疗适应症的疗效和安全性。本综述聚焦于在伤口愈合中使用药用蚂蟥疗法时东西方医学之间的信息差距。伤口愈合受损在多种临床情况下会对患者健康造成严重后果。西方医学、波斯医学和印度医学在使用药用蚂蟥疗法治疗伤口时似乎采用了不同的治疗方法。我们查阅了一系列关于在伤口愈合中使用药用蚂蟥疗法的综述文章、单病例报告和病例系列。各种报告表明，药用蚂蟥疗法对皮肤和组织出现静脉淤血以及各类溃疡的患者具有潜在益处。事实证明，这种疗法具有溶栓、抗凝、促进血液和淋巴循环、抗炎和止痛作用。这些方法的具体细节有望激发对药用蚂蟥疗法在伤口愈合中应用的进一步研究。尽管在西方医学中，使用药用蚂蟥疗法缓解重建手术和整形手术后的静脉淤血是众所周知的，但在阿育吠陀/尤那尼/波斯医学背景下，其在促进各种溃疡形式伤口愈合中的应用似乎主要局限于亚洲和阿拉伯地区。药用蚂蟥疗法在伤口愈合中的真正价值应通过采用现代循证研究方法的进一步调查来阐明。
