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Leeches are the best clot-busters Washington:
Leeches have been traditionally associated with the world of medicine,
as earlier they were used to draw out bad blood from a person's body
by apothecaries, but now a study has confirmed that leeches contain
new potential molecules that may become useful tools in the treatment
of cardiovascular diseases. The details of this research appear in the
October issue of Molecular and Cellular Proteomics, an American Society
for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology journal. Scientists have increasingly
turned to blood-feeding invertebrates as a source for drugs and lead
compounds to treat cardiovascular disease because these animals have
evolved highly efficient mechanisms to feed on their hosts by blocking
blood coagulation. "Most heart attacks and strokes are associated with
a blocked artery," explains study author Oscar Yanes. "In some cases,
blood clots may cause the blockage of arteries that lead to cardiovascular
disease. People with cardiovascular disease typically have an increased
tendency to form blood clots, and a decreased ability to dissolve clots
before they can do any damage. Therefore, compounds interrupting the
blood coagulation cascade may inhibit thrombus development." Although
these new serine protease inhibitors are a long way from being used
to treat cardiovascular disease, they do represent several important
leads in the search for more effective anticoagulant and fibrinolytic
drugs. Encouraged by their present success, Yanes and his colleagues
are planning to apply their novel approach to the screening of additional
types of leeches as well as different blood sucking animals. "Leeches
belong to an extensive family with a large number of species and subspecies,
which have evolved highly efficient mechanisms to block blood coagulation,"
notes Yanes.
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