Bloodletting - It May Have Had Some Benefits

There's no way ancient doctors could have known about this specific detail but as it turns out, it could have had some benefits regardless.

Bacteria need iron to cause infections. The body has defense mechanisms to make it harder for germs to suck iron out of someone�s blood or other tissues. But deadly germs can get around that so-called iron blockade, and understanding how might lead to better treatments.

University of Chicago microbiologists report Thursday in the journal Science that the staph germ � a leading cause of pneumonia and other infections � fuels itself with iron in a previously unknown way.

Early in staph infections, the germs blow open red blood cells. The Chicago researchers found staph then snatches their oxygen- and iron-carrying component, called heme, and discovered the genes that govern the process.

When they weakened those genes, staph no longer sickened worms or mice, said lead researcher Eric P. Skaar. Next step is hunting drugs to block staph�s iron-stealing ability.

Where does that ancient remedy of bloodletting come in?

The discovery suggests that bloodletting, done early enough, may have slowed staph infections by starving germs of iron, National Institutes of Health iron specialist Tracy Rouault wrote in a review of Skaar�s research.

Nobody�s suggesting bleeding staph patients today. Now derided as a nonsensical if not barbaric custom, bloodletting was abandoned in the mid-20th century after antibiotics were invented.

But the mystery persists: �How could a procedure popular for 2,500 years have really been completely worthless?� Rouault asked.

www.msnbc.msn.com...

“How could a procedure popular for 2,500 years have really been completely worthless?”

Same thing with Earth is flat, for a long time people believed that Earth was flat, and also the same thing with God. For a long time and even now people think God exists, but one day in future we are going to look back at ourselves and ask the same questions "How could such an advanced species really believe in GOD?"

I think this is just an coincedece, I mean people back then just assumed stuff that they thought to be common knowledge and led their lives around it.

If you say this is too great to be coincidence, look at all the others stuff that have been wrong for more than 2500 years, compared to them this is just antoher coincidence.

I think your right about a lot of what you said surfup but I don't think even science will ever be able to prove whether there is some form of higher power, intelligence, etc., out there.

I think more likely, far distant humans will look back and wonder how anyone could have believed any religion was real or had the answers. A general belief in something greater than the universe is fine, but religions are just freakish mind control devices put in place first off to soothe the mind of worry on the unknown, second to secure power, minds and money.

I can respect people for believing in a god(s) but I will argue to my grave than any religion is worth a hill of beans.

Theories exist that donating blood may have heart-related
health benefits.

www.straightdope.com...

and

www.cnn.com...

Thanks for the links aWoman! Very interesting.