A review on Iranian Traditional Medicine about Leech Therapy in Polycystic Ovary Syndrome

Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) is one of the most common endocrine disorders in women of reproductive age. Complementary medicine with a comprehensive and holistic approach in treating the diseases has become more popular in many countries. Since ancient times, leech therapy has been used to treat many diseases in Iranian traditional medicine. The present study was conducted with aim to review Iranian traditional medicine about leech therapy in polycystic ovary syndrome. In this review study, the issues related to polycystic ovary syndrome and leech therapy were studied in Iranian traditional medicine sources such as Qanun, kholasat al-hekmeh, Exir-e-aazam and Mofarrah al-gholub. Then, searching was performed in databases of PubMed, Google Scholar, Scopus, SID, and Magiran using the keywords such as “leech”, “leech therapy”, “Hirudo medicinalis”, “Hirudins” with “polycystic ovary syndrome”, “uterus”, and “oligoamenorrhea”. The review papers and clinical trial studies were searched in Persian and English languages without any time limitation, and the related materials were extracted and categorized. The symptoms of PCOS such as the enlargement and stiffness of the ovaries and oligoamenorrhea were reported in ITM references entitled as “Ehtebas tams”. Leech therapy is useful in treatment of these patients by reducing the ovarian swelling, causing menstruation, eliminating waste material, as well as antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects. Leech therapy can be used as a complementary treatment in patients with polycystic ovarian syndrome.