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Leeches: pain suckers
02/10/2000 15:30 - (SA)
Essebn, German - Applying blood-sucking leeches to the parts of the body afflicted
by arthritis is an excellent way to relieve pain, German researchers have discovered.
Specialists at the Department of Internal Medicine at Essen Central
Clinic used leeches to treat 10 patients suffering from arthritis
of the joints.
Within two days the pain was reduced by at least half and even more
over the following two months, said Gustav Dobos, the head of the
clinic.
"This is probably because the joint becomes easier to move once the
pain has been alleviated," he said.
A comparative group of patients, treated only by physiotherapy,
benefited from hardly any pain relief at all, he said.
Elisabeth Walgenbach, aged 58, who suffers from arthritis in her
right foot, turned to leech therapy after both physiotherapy and
radiotherapy failed to relieve her pain.
During her therapy, a small brown leech attached itself to her
ankle with its back end while its head wandered searchingly over
the foot looking for a good place to bite. "It feels like a bee
sting," she said.
Professor Dobos said there are about 20 pain-relieving substances
in the saliva of leeches. The animals were once used in traditional
medicine. In the 19th Century they were so fashionable that
the animals nearly became extinct in Europe.
Leeches are currently only used in orthodox medicine in skin
transplantation to break down blood congestion in tissue that has
not yet fully developed.
Professor Dobos said it was the first time such a comparative
experiment had been carried out. He is now embarking on a larger
study.
This combination of conventional and natural therapies to fight
pain is unique in Germany, said Professor Dobos. Scientists have
not yet managed to artificially produce the combination of
pain-killing substances found in leeches.
Yet the natural therapy is not expensive. A single leech costs
health insurance agencies just $2.25 and only two or
three animals are needed per treatment. - Sapa-dpa
- SAPA
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