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240727

Leech; a Threat, an Intervention or a Pharmacy, a Review.

Article

Last updated: 22 Jan 2023

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Abstract

Leeches have a complex relationship with the human race. They act as vampire attackers that can induce various complications and might be life-threatening in some cases (especially in orificial hirudiniasis). On the other hand, there is a long history of seeking medicinal uses for leech bites (leech-therapy) since 1500 BC in ancient Egypt. This therapy is resurging in the last few decades aided this time by ongoing scientific investigations and case reports. What surpass expectations are the potentials of the unique chemical substrates found in leech saliva, like hirudin, which has propelled modern research and inspired the development of new therapeutic generations. Still, the understanding of leech biology and the extracted chemical substrates is in its beginnings and future research can reveal various therapeutic candidates. Thus, this review represents a trial to explore this multifaceted leech-man relationship by discussing three main aspects; therapeutics discovery, parasitism and leech therapy.

DOI

10.21608/eajbse.2022.240727

Keywords

Orificial hirudiniasis, Leech-therapy, Hirudin, Leech saliva

Authors

First Name

Nardeen

Last Name

Bocktor

MiddleName

Z.

Affiliation

Medical Parasitology Department, Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University

Email

nzbocktor@kasralainy.edu.eg

City

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Orcid

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Volume

14

Article Issue

1

Related Issue

31171

Issue Date

2022-06-01

Receive Date

2022-04-06

Publish Date

2022-06-01

Page Start

117

Page End

131

Print ISSN

2090-0783

Online ISSN

2090-0856

Article File

EAJBSE_Volume 14_Issue 1_Pages 117-131.pdf

PDF . 429.9kB

Link

https://eajbse.journals.ekb.eg/article_240727.html

Detail API

https://eajbse.journals.ekb.eg/service?article_code=240727

Order

11

Type

Original Article

Type Code

687

Publication Type

Journal

Publication Title

Egyptian Academic Journal of Biological Sciences, E. Medical Entomology & Parasitology

Publication Link

https://eajbse.journals.ekb.eg/

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Article

Created At

22 Jan 2023