Investigation of oxidant-antioxidant status in patients treated with hirudotherapy: an experimental study
Research article published in JPMA. The Journal of the Pakistan Medical Association (2024)
Abstract
OBJECTIVES: To examine the influence of hirudotherapy on parameters of oxidative stress. METHODS: The cross-sectional study was conducted from March 29 to September 29, 2021, at the Alanya Research and Training Hospital's Traditional and Complementary Medicine Application Centre, Turkey, and comprised adult volunteers of either gender. The participants were subjected to two sessions of hirudotherapy 4 weeks apart. Total antioxidant status, total oxidant status, oxidative stress index values, ischaemia-modified albumin level, paraoxonase 1, disulfide, native thiol, total thiol, and arylesterase levels were assessed at baseline and after the second hirudotherapy session. Data was analysed using SPSS 15. RESULTS: Of the 50 subjects, 30(60%) were females and 20(40%) were males. The overall mean age was 47.10±15.16 years. Oxidative stress, ischaemia-modified albumin and disulfide levels decreased, but not significantly (p>0.05). The reduction in disulfide levels was significant (p=0.021). CONCLUSIONS: Hirudotherapy, within its limitations, could reduce oxidative stress.
Abstract sourced from PubMed (NCBI) for the cited record. See the original publication for the authoritative version.
Summary
In 50 adults given two hirudotherapy sessions four weeks apart, oxidative stress markers, ischaemia-modified albumin and disulfide levels fell; only the disulfide decrease reached significance (p=0.021), suggesting hirudotherapy may reduce oxidative stress.
Why This Matters for Hirudotherapy
This cross-sectional study directly examined the influence of hirudotherapy on oxidative stress parameters in 50 adult volunteers who underwent two leech therapy sessions four weeks apart at a Turkish Traditional and Complementary Medicine center. Investigators measured total antioxidant status, total oxidant status, oxidative stress index, ischaemia-modified albumin, paraoxonase 1, disulfide, native/total thiol, and arylesterase levels at baseline and after the second session. The work offers preliminary human biochemical data suggesting that leech therapy may modulate systemic redox balance—particularly disulfide levels, which showed a significant reduction (p=0.021)—hinting at potential antioxidant mechanisms beyond the well-characterized anticoagulant actions of leech salivary components. Most measured oxidative stress markers decreased only non-significantly, the study involved just two sessions with no long-term follow-up reported, and the cross-sectional design with 50 participants provides exploratory rather than confirmatory evidence. The abstract does not provide detailed outcome data beyond group-level p-values.
Citation
Reference (Vancouver style)
Sarikan I, Savas HB. Investigation of oxidant-antioxidant status in patients treated with hirudotherapy: an experimental study. J Pak Med Assoc. 2024;74(4):647-651. doi:10.47391/JPMA.9213. PMID: 38751255
Bibliographic details (authors, volume, pages, DOI) are taken from the PubMed record.
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