Are You Game For Biotherapies?

Biotherapies employ live creatures for medical cure or as an add-on to medical analysis for stimulating and reinstating the immune system’s capability in fighting infections and ailments.

The highly detested maggots are a significant part of biotherapy due to their effectual therapeutic properties in curing wounds. Remedial maggots cleanse injuries by doing away with lifeless and infection-ridden tissues. They employ assimilative enzymes for dissolving lifeless tissues prior to consuming them.

The blood-sucking leeches are used during transplantation surgery by plastic surgeons to allay excessive blood pooling in replanted tissues leading to venous congestion and for improving blood circulation.

Honey bees are widely used in Apitherapy (apis meaning bees). During Apitherapy the medicinal usage of bee-derived products such as beeswax, pollens, bee poison, honey, propolis and others are done.

Bacteriophage therapies are widely performed in Georgia (deemed the international hub for this therapy) wherein viral forms are deployed that assault disease-causing bacteria for treating infections. The extensive studies were conducted on this biotherapy form as an adjunct to antibiotic course.

Icthyotherapies are believed to be immensely beneficial for those individuals ailing from a skin condition known as psoriasis. In this form of biotherapy, fishes are used for healing injuries or skin problems arising due to psoriasis. A research has proven that Icthyotherapy showed potential in treating psoriasis patients in the hot water springs of Kangal, Turkey. The study assessed the efficacy and safety quotient of this form of biotherapy in combination with interim UV- sunbed emission for treating psoriasis in guarded situations.

The movements of the animal horse are used as curative approach in speech therapy, bodily and occupational therapy in case of disabled individuals during hippotherapy to derive effectual results.

Man’s best friend and a service animal – the dog function as guides to individuals having visual impairment and is deemed by quite a few as being a type of biotherapy. Dogs are mighty sniffers and few studies have indicated that they could detect individuals having cancer by merely sniffing their urine or breathing. The notion of sniffing out cancer has lead to studies being conducted for the creation of the ‘electronic nose’ – a contrivance intended to diagnose the unstable cancer-producing molecules.

Ingestion of particular parasitic worm forms inclusive of threadworm is the norm in Helminthic therapy for the treatment of allergic reaction and autoimmune disorders like narcolepsy, Crohn’s disease amongst others.

The United States FDA or Food and Drug Administration has categorised leech to be employed for medicinal uses. Leeches garnered the FDA nod and were graded as a medicinal tool analogous to a pacemaker and prosthesis.