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The enormous experience of using
medicinal
leeches in medical purposes is saved up during many centuries. With the
development of science the mechanism of action of a secret of salivary glands of
leeches was deciphered, biologically active substances which are included in it
were opened,their influence on the certain structures of an alive organism is
investigated. Some medical forms are created on a basis of biologically active
substances of salivary glands of leeches and work on creation of new substances is
conducting. Modern hirudotherapy differs from the ancient one because now
we do not use wild leeches: instead we use leeches grown at special biofactories where they are in
a severe quarantine. Besides, nowadays we use a leech only once. This fact
completely excludes the chance of infecting a patient.
The obvious advantage and absolute safety
of hirudotherapy is checked up by thousands of years of experience of mankind and
does not cause any doubts. One of the first substances found in salivary glands
of medicinal leech is hirudin-the substance oppressing the process of blood
clotting. Then such anticoagulating substances as ferment destabilaza,ingibitors
of plazmine,callecrein of plasmine and others were opened. Factors of
diffusion-ferments of gialuronidaza,collagenaza,the factors appressing the
mediators of pain-cininaza,antisclerous factors were investigated as well. Again
opened substances are studied. Thus,a medicinal leech is a small “factory”
manufacturing biologically active substances. The result of action of
biologically active substances on an alive organism are:
-normalization and improvement of capillary circulation;
-expressed antiinflammation effect;
-antistressful and adaptogene effects;
-immunostimulating and immunomodulating effects;
-anesthesia;
-anticoagulation;
-antibacterial effect;
-improvement of an endocellular exhange and the realization of these mechanisms
has both local and general character.
The existence of skin-visceral connections with the
definite organs is well known. Biologically active substances act to organs
during the blood-sucking work of medicinal leeches through viens. It promotes
the improvement of blood circulation in the certain organ,renders
trombolitic,antiinflammatory,immunostimulating action,raises nutrition of
tissues, strengthens tissues immunity. It’s impossible to name all diseases
which can be treated by using hirudotherapy. It’s easier to name
contra-indications here :
absolute-hemophilia,
relative-pregnancy,anemia,hypotonia.
Hirudotherapy may be applied at any diseases known nowadays. It
can be used as an independent method of treating and in complex with the others.
Doctors know perfectly well how it is difficult to struggle with chronic
inflammatory diseases. The matter is that at all varieties of clinical displays
of illnesses mechanisms of protection of an organism are universal-emission
mediators of inflammation,vazoconstrictors,apireties and some other biologically
active substances into blood. Everything comes to aspiration of a live organism
to delimit the nidus of inflammation by deterioration of blood circulation and
capillary-tissue permeability,creation of an inflammatory shaft by cellular and
conjunctive tissue structure and a temperature mode in the given area.As a
result of it the concentration of drugs for example an antibiotic in the nidus
of inflammation is much lower than in blood. The increase of a dose of a
chemical drug doesn’t solve a problem because leads to excessive allergy and
strikes a blow on other organs-(on liver,kidneys,spinal cord,endocrin
glands). As a result we have a lot of problems:
disbacteriosis,hepatitis,nephropathy,immune deficiency
conditions,but the problem of chronic inflammation for a given patient is not
solved. Here it’s a time to recollect about hirudotherapy. Biologically active
substances containing in saliva glands of medicinal leeches can restore blood
circulation in the nidus of inflammation, remove an ischemia of organs, provide
capillary tissue exchange and due to it can carry out the transport of chemical
drugs into the nidus of inflammation, improve immune protection and regeneration
of tissues. In such conditions the using of the same chemical drugs is possible
in smaller doses. These factors do not limit the abilities of hirudotherapy to
influence the nidus of inflammation. The matter is that in salivary glands of
medicinal leeches there are some substances capable to detain the growth of
bacterias.One of the most investigated substances is hirudin. In experiments at
animals a bacteriastatic and bactericidal action of hirudin has been proved. The
main reason of medicinal action of hirudin for example at thrombophlebitis is in
its bactericidal property. That’s why it becomes clear that the using of
leeches both at aseptic inflammation and at inflammation caused by the bacterial
agent helps the organism. The property of a secret of salivary glands of a medicinal leech to
penetrate through”demarcacional shaft” of inflammation is deternimed by the
action of the factor of penetration-the enzime gialuronidaza. This enzime is
capable to unactivate the action of gialuron acid which is the cementing
substance for conjunctive tissues.
Such feaeture of hirudotherapy essentially
distinquishes it from the other methods of treatment.
Besides the mentioned above effects of hirudotherapy it’s necessary to
remember about one such as the irritation of biologically active points
influence on reflex zones.It was noticed long ago that leeches prefer to sit on
the certain areas of skin which correspond to points of ancient Chinese methods
of treatment-needleacupuncture. In result of hirudotherapy we receive the effect
in treatment not only due to action of biologically active substances of
leeches' secret,but also by means of influence on reflex zones.
For example at the treatment of hypertonic disease biologically active points of
occipital and cervical area are used and the influence of these points gives
anaesthetic,vasodilating and hipotenzive effects.The other action of leeches is
blood taking.One leech exhausts from 5 to 10 ml of blood..Bleeding lasts for
some hours(about 12-24 hours) and the patient loses about 20-30 ml of blood.Thus due
to influence of 5 leeches simulteneously the patient loses 100-250 ml of blood
and this way of blood taking has unquestionable advantages before taking blood
from veins. Taking blood from the area connecting with the ill organ lasts for about
an hour. Thus, it is creating conditions of a stable and lasting many hours drainage
and venous unloading of the given area,in the certain area there usually is an
improvement of microcirculation,the nutrition of tissues,cellular exchange,
venous stagnation is usually liquidated and the ischemia of
organ is usually eliminated.After a treatment course consisting of 5-10 procedures using
from 4 to 10 leeches a good clinical effect is marked.At the cardiovascular
pathology leading to decompensation of blood circulation(ishemic heart disease,
intimate defect) the leeches appointing to the area of a liver authentically
reduce increased arterial pressure, leads to reducing the stagnation in the liver,to improvement of lung ventilation and unloading of heart. The effect
comes in a result of a direct hipotenzive and anticoagulating action of hirudin
and in not a smaller degree due to reducing of peripheral resistance. At
diseases of cardiovascular system hirudotherapy plays a special role.It is easy
to find an explanation for this taking into account its above mentioned
properties.Besides it is necessary to note the ability of hirudin to influence
on blood clotting. The liquid condition of blood and its clotting is provided
by functional interation of two systems of the organism:clotting and anticlotting.The
anticlotting system supports blood in liquid condition,protecting it from
clotting,the second one provides protection from bleeding at infringement of
integrity of blood vessels. For the patients with ischemic heart disease,
hypertension,for old people,for patients with diabetes the main problem is
atherosclerosis of vessels and as a result-angiopathy;atherosclerosis is nothing
that infringement of integrety of blood vessels.which provide and activate the
system of clotting.In a result one of the most terrible displays of diseases of
heart and vessels is the thrombosis of arteries in the vital important organs.
The output of thrombosis are the infarction of heart,brain,lungs brinding
sometimes to lethal outcomes. Stimulation of fibrinolitic activity and
anticlotting system of blood at such diseases,oppression of formation of
trombs,and reducing of viscosity of blood are necessary both with medical
purpose and for preventive maintanance of ischemic conditions. The mechanism of
oppressing activity of hirudin on thrombin is investigated. Hirudin blocks the
action of thrombin and the last one losing its properties,doesn’t promote the
transition of fibrinogen into fibrin.Besides the secret of saliva of a
medicinal leech blocks an anitial attachement of thrombocytes and completely
supresses their aggregetion on a surface of collagenus. Thus,the secret of
salivary of a medicinal leech influences on cellular and plasma factors of blood
clotting.In researches of many authors it is marked that after the assignment of
leeches there is a normalization of separate parameters of coagulogramme-at
anitial combination of hyper coagulations the anticoagulating system is
activating
and on the contrary becomes more active. Similar effect was not received even
when we use such widely known anticoagulants as heparin and aspirin. We should
add the lipotropal effect of enzymes of salivary glands of medicinal leeches
which consists in the ability to influence on blood lipids. At the beginning of
the century some scientists expressed the assumption that the development of
atherosclerosis can be prevented by applying medicinal leeches. In 1984-1989
it was experimentally proved that at long introvenous introduction of a secret
of salivary glands of medicinal leeches to the rats which were in the condition
of a strongly expressed atherosclerosis the last ones had reduction of lipids in
abdominal and lung arteries.
It’s well
known that the lipoproteids of low density and lipoproteids of very low density
promote the development of atherosclerosis,but the lipoproteids of high density
play the role of the protective antisclerous factor. At ishemic heard disease
there is a redistribution of cholesterol in different classes of lipoproteids.
The quantity of it raises in lipoproteids of low density and in lipoproteids of
very low density being reduced thus in lipoproteids of high density. The
patients of this group have authentic increase of the level of common
lipids,triglicerids,cholesterol in arterial walls. Many authors engaged in this
problem mark the authentic reduction of triglicerids and cholesterol in blood
after several session of hirudotherapy. It allows to draw a conclusion that
lipotropic ensymes secret of salivary of medicinal leeches may be used at
atherosclerotic defect of vessels irrespective of primary localization of
atherosclerosis. Probably the effect of “rejuvenation” which may be noticed
after hirudotherapy-the appearance of shine in eyes, the improvement of skin
elasticity,the appearance of flush,the disappearance of the mask of tiredness on
patients faces,a vigorous kind of patients. It's possible because in this case
we deal with the mechanism of increasing of vascularization of skin and internal
organs. Probably, due to the action of girudin and gialuronidaze(the factor of
penetration)it is improving not only blood circulation is organs-targets,but in
other organs and tissues due to the best capacity of cappilary-tissues
exchanging and so on. It promotes the reduction of swelling,the dissolution of
the organized blood-clots,cosmetic effect. The using of leeches promotes the
increasing of local immunity as well.
Diseases of
vessels, heart, chronic nonspecific diseases of lungs leading to heart and liver
incompetence may be treated with hirudotherapy. At heart incompetence and
chronic lung’s heart the stagnation in a big circle of blood circulation takes
place and this fact leads to functional liver incompetence. The unloading of a
big circle of blood circulation at hirudotherapy(the improvement of blood
circulation in region),the action of lipotropic enzymes,the reduction of a
hypostasis of liver-all these factors promote the improvement of patients health
due to the complex influence of leeches secrets on organism.
Hirudotherapy
as we see should be regarded not only as a preventive maintenance,but also as a
method of treatment at ishemic heart disease, insult and other vascular
pathologies,at diseases of exchange,at endocrine diseases,nervous diseases, at
all inflammatory diseases and so on. As a result it’s necessary to note that
the succers of hirudotherapy depends not only on biological properties of
leeches secret but also from the experience of a doctor and joint actions of a
patient and a doctor.
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