Although some controversy swirls around the issue of human stem cell research, here’s an example where stem cells are helping disabled dogs regain some of their former spunk.
According to a recent article in USA Today (“Stem Cell Therapy Offers Hope for Pets Dogged by Pain,”), veterinarians trained in the procedure withdraw stem cells from an afflicted dog’s own fat tissue. After the stem cells are extracted and purified, they are injected into the same dog’s affected joints. Vet-Stem is the company that pioneered the veterinary stem cell extraction/purification procedure. They claim that some 3,000 horses have been treated with their therapy.
Results in dogs are also encouraging.
“(Colorado Springs veterinarian James) Gaynor has used stem cell therapy on 27 dogs ‘and all improved — some more than others,’ but he acknowledges many questions remain. It's unclear how long the positive effects will last, whether follow-up injections will improve results or which animals are unlikely to benefit,” the article explains.
Given the fact that toy poodles sometimes inherit orthopedic problems and, in any case, usually live to an age where arthritis creeps into their joints, stem cell therapy might be something you see used with greater frequency in little dogs in years to come.
Stem cells hold great promise in therapy because they can replace virtually any kind of cell in the body. You can learn more about stem cells by visiting this Wikipedia page.
Until next time,
Mr. Dibs
