The Ionized calcium-Binding Adapter molecule 1 (Iba1), also known as Allograft Inflammatory Factor 1 (AIF-1), is a 17 kDa cytokine-inducible protein, produced by activated macrophages during chronic transplant rejection and inflammatory reactions in Vertebrates. In mammalian central nervous system (CNS), Iba1 is a sensitive marker associated with activated macrophages/microglia and is upregulat...

Once considered as lacking intrinsic immune mechanisms, the CNS of vertebrates is now known to be capable of mounting its own innate immune response. Interestingly, while invertebrates have been very useful in the interpretation of general vertebrate innate immunity mechanisms, only scarce data are available on the immune response of nervous tissue within this group. This study provides new dat...

A 55-year-old Chinese woman presented with a 3-week history of unilateral left-sided epistaxis and nasal obstruction. She had swam in a freshwater stream 1 month prior to the onset of symptoms. Endoscopic examination revealed a live leech at the left middle meatus with a large part of its body inside the left maxillary antrum. Local anaesthetic was applied to anaesthetise the leech and facilita...

Leeches are segmented worms belonging to Phylum Annelida and make up the subclass Hirudinea. Leeches have been historically used in medicine to suck blood from patients. Ocular infestation with leech is rare, moreover it is often misdiagnosed. In this report, we describe 2 patients with continuous bright ocular bleeding after swimming in a pool, and pseudo iris prolapse in a child after trauma ...

In this study 47 leech species from Poland are listed. They belong to two orders, two suborders, five families and 17 genera. The checklist also includes the information about hosts, distribution in Poland and references concerning the leech species discussed in this study.

Objective: This objective of this study is to determine the TCM usage rates MS patients who are followed up at a Tertiary Healthcare Centre, practices they mostly prefer, their level satisfaction from these and socio-demographic characteristics which may have an impact on preferences. Materials Methods: cross-sectional type has been conducted 107 neurology clinic. The Kurtzke Expanded Disabilit...

Based on physiological investigations, Nicholls and Baylor (1968) identified and described three types of mechanosensory neurons in segmental ganglia of medicinal leech: T-cells receiving touch information, P-cells sensitive to changes in pressure applied on the skin, and N-cells affected by nociceptive stimuli. The electrical excitability and the passive electrical parameters of the somatic me...

Neuropharmacological and neurophysiological studies have been undertaken on both the longitudinal muscle and on the segmental ganglionic neurones of the leech, Hirudo medicinalis. The longitudinal muscle of the leech was developed by Minz (1932) from the initial observations of Fuehner (1918) as an assay procedure for acetylcholine. More recently this same preparation has been used as an assay ...

BACKGROUND Human leech infestation is a disease of the poor who live in rural areas and use water contaminated with leeches. Like any other body orifices, vagina can also be infested by leech when females use contaminated water for bathing and/or douching. Although this condition is very rare in postmenopausal women, it causes morbidities and mortalities. CASE DETAILS A 70 year old Para X (al...

In the leech, synapse regeneration in adults and synapse formation during embryonic development can be studied in single, identifiable cells that make precise connections with their targets. Certain cellular components, such as synaptic targets and glia, were selectively destroyed to study how the regenerating axons locate their targets, what triggers axons to start growing and what stops them....