July 26, 2008
Little suckers clear the path to the brain
Kate Benson in the Sydney Morning Herald:
When Mehdi Jaffari was told his left carotid artery was so severely blocked he faced the risk of an imminent stroke, he turned the clock back to medieval times.
The 52-year-old counsellor, from Chatswood, bought more than 35 leeches from a Victorian farmer and applied them to his body daily. Within five days, a CT angiogram showed the artery had cleared, stunning staff at Royal North Shore Hospital and his family.
Leech therapy, first documented in Greece more than 4000 years ago, is not new in Sydney. More than 50 Richardsonianus australis leeches are kept in a tank at Liverpool Hospital for use on patients who have had skin grafts or severed digits because their saliva contains hirudin, a chemical that acts as a powerful anticoagulant and vasodilator.
More here. [Thanks to Susan Anthony.]
Posted by Abbas Raza at 11:27 AM | Permalink
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FDA approves leeches as medical devices
July 20th, 2004
The U.S. government has lent its seal of approval to marketing an age-old medical device - leeches.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said that Ricarimpex SAS, a French firm, is the first company to request and receive FDA clearance to market the bloodsucking aquatic animals as medical devices.
For more on bloodletting:
Survival of the Sickest by Sharon Moalem
Posted by: Felix E F Larocca MD | Jul 26, 2008 3:56:31 PM
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