Can Leech Therapy Be Used as an Alternative Treatment for Controlling Migraine Headache? A Pilot Study / Da li lečenje pijavicama može da se primenjuje kao alternativni način lečenja u kontroli migrenoznih glavobolja? Pilot studija

Abstract

Leech therapy is likely to cause symptomatic relief in migraine headache sufferers, but there is little clinical data in this field. This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of leech therapy in the management of migraine headaches. This is a quasi-experimental pilot study with a three-month post-treatment follow-up. Twenty-six patients with migraine headaches were allocated into two groups to receive either routine drug therapy (Propranolol 80 mg/day and Amytriptyline 50 mg/day) as preventive therapy or leech therapy (1-3 leeches in a single session). The severity and duration of headache were measured before intervention, as well as at week 1, and at months 1, 2, and 3 after intervention. The visual analog scale (VAS) was used to assess the severity of headache.The mean severity and duration of headaches were significantly decreased within both groups during the study period, whereas there was no significant difference between the groups after three months. The declining trend of severity and duration of headaches was seen to be highly significant in the first week of the treatment in both groups.The results of this study showed that a single session of leech therapy offers benefits equal to drug therapy in reducing pain in women with migraine headache, and can provide great symptomatic relief, lasting for at least three months.

Hirudoteraphy in pain management

“…According to Bakhshi et al 21 a single session of leech therapy can provide similar pain-reducing benefits to drug therapy in women with migraine headaches. The therapy can also provide significant symptomatic relief, which can last for at least three months.…”

European Medicinal Leeches—New Roles in Modern Medicine

“…Most reports concerning medicinal leech therapy focus on cosmetic and reconstructive surgery. However, leech therapy has been tested for many conditions over the past two decades, including migraine [17,18], knee osteoarthritis [19][20][21][22][23][24][25], cardiovascular disease [26][27][28], skin disorders [29], diabetic foot ulcers [30][31][32], priapism [33], macroglossia [34,35], cancer [36,37] and skin wounds [38,39]. For most of these conditions only individual case studies were published [39], but migraine and knee osteoarthritis are exceptions.…”

The Investigation of Effects of Medicinal Leech Saliva Extract on the Breast Fibroblast Cell Line In Vitro: An Experimental Study

“…7 Hirudotherapy is used as a complementary and supportive treatment for many diseases and problems, such as venous congestion, various ulcer forms, migraine and rheumatoid diseases. [8][9][10][11] The main benefits of leech therapy is caused by the various bioactive substances which found in the saliva of medicinal leeches. 12,13 This saliva contains more than 100 bioactive substances.…”