Leech Therapy: How It Works and Its Uses in Modern Medicine

https://www.news-medical.net/health/Leech-Therapy-How-It-Works-and-Its-Uses-in-Modern-Medicine.aspx Once prized for bloodletting, medicinal leeches are drawing fresh scientific interest for the complex molecular pharmacy hidden in their saliva. Leeches have been used for thousands of years for bloodletting, which was thought to cure various illnesses. Modern medicine and drug discovery have rekindled interest in the pharmacologically active molecules found in leech saliva. Proteomic and transcriptomic studies have identified more than 100 salivary proteins and peptides, but only a fraction have been functionally characterized, and few have advanced into pharmaceutical development.2,3