Monday, February 16, 2015

Study group discussion: Heparin induced thrombocytopenia and leech therapy

What's Heparin induced thrombocytopenia??

Antibodies are formed in the blood platelets due to heparin in certain individuals. This causes widespread petechia.

You discontinue heparin and give something else in HIT.

Lepirudin
Bivalrudin
Argatroban

And now the cool part :D
The drug Lepirudin is derived from the salivary glands of LEECH!

I know!!!

Haha ain't this cool?

Leech.. Didn't know that!

In school, they used to say if a leech bites you, you die. I never found out the truth though.

Maybe cause it releases these substances in your system..And you are not able to clot inside?

My 12th standard books also mentioned about leech having anticoagulant properties....Now I find out that it's used to prepare drugs!

HIRUDIN is the substance that is secreted by the salivary glands of leech!

I just Googled can a leech bite kill you :D
I don't think they can kill you, they don't take enough blood in a fast amount of time unless you put a few 100,000 on your body and left them there for a while.

100, 000...That's a lot of leech!

Lol I think it was a hyperbole!

I don't remember exactly....but I had heard of alopecia being treated with leech.

How? :O

The leech would suck blood... So keeping them for just the right amount of time they would increase the blood supply... I'm not sure though.

Leech therapy is known to increase blood circulation, therefore when therapy is applied to thinning or bald areas, the increase of blood circulation helps enhance the concentration and delivery of nutrients that assist in making hair follicles strong, thereby assisting in the promotion of hair growth. People suffering alopecia caused by fungal infections or dandruff can also benefit through the antibacterial component in the leeches saliva, which helps combat fungal infections.

It's also used in arthritis :O

The FDA approved the use of leeches in the USA in 2004. In October 2005 the first American hospital 'Beth Israel Medical Center New York' offered Leech Therapy to treat Osteoarthritis of the knee.

Arthritis?! Woah.

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