Diabetes is a serious condition, and should be monitored by a doctor on an ongoing basis. But what if your doctor presented you with a say, creative approach to treat your diabetes?
The answer: Maggot therapy.
This study was showcased at the Interscience Conference on Anti-Microbial Agents and Chemotherapy.
Reuters Health reports:
These problem patients with diabetes really need better treatments in order to salvage their limbs," said study author Lawrence Eron from Kaiser Hospital and the University of Hawaii in Honolulu , who with colleagues presented their findings at a recent scientific meeting in Chicago. "Maggot debridement treatment is overwhelmingly effective," Enron said to Reuters Health.
Now, before you freak, it's important to keep in mind this was a tiny study with less than 50 participants. Only 21 of 27 patients were able to achieve a successful treatment with maggot therapy.
Here's what researchers did:
Last resort option? Perhaps. According to the abstract:
MDT (Maggot Debridement Therapy) is an effective, low-cost, salvage option for the treatment of poorly vascularized, infected wounds in diabetics, especially when vascular remediation cannot be utilized. Bacteriostatic substances secreted into wounds by maggots may combine with antibiotics in eradicating these infections.
Image: Flickr via katzenfinch
This post was originally published on Smartplanet.com