The role of the leech in medical therapeutics
| Autor: | Miriam Orevi, Amiram Eldor, Meir Rigbi |
|---|---|
| Rok vydání: | 1996 |
| Předmět: |
Microsurgery
medicine.medical_specialty Modern medicine animal structures Platelet Aggregation Hirudin Therapy Hirudin Leech Postphlebitic Syndrome Antithrombins Thrombin Leeches Internal medicine medicine Leech Therapy Animals Saliva biology business.industry Hematology biology.organism_classification Adenosine Hirudo medicinalis Endocrinology Oncology business Platelet Aggregation Inhibitors medicine.drug |
| Zdroj: | Blood Reviews. 10:201-209 |
| ISSN: | 0268-960X |
| DOI: | 10.1016/s0268-960x(96)90000-4 |
| Popis: | Leeching is considered by many to be a discredited medical relic of the past. This view is not justified, since leeches still play an important part in modern medicine, as in microsurgery and in the treatment of patients with post-phlebitic syndrome. Hirudin, the potent thrombin inhibitor of leech saliva, has been cloned and is used in the treatment of cardiological and hematological disorders. In our search for other antihemostatic factors in Hirudo medicinalis saliva, we found inhibitors of platelet aggregation induced by thrombin, collagen, adenosine 5'-diphosphate, epinephrine, platelet-activating factor and arachidonic acid. We purified apyrase (adenosine 5'-triphosphate diphosphohydrolase), which is a non-specific inhibitor of platelet aggregation by virtue of its action on adenosine 5'-diphosphate. We isolated and characterized the platelet-activating factor antagonist and also identified and recovered an inhibitor of coagulation factor Xa from leech saliva. This report summarizes our findings and those of other investigators, as well as the experience of one of us (A.E.) in leech therapy. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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