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| US Veterinarians Using Stem Cells to Treat Arthritis in Dogs |
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| Animals | |||
| Mercredi, 18 Juin 2008 08:00 | |||
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There are no translations available. Source: Guardian Maggie Mae is running a lot more these days and even gets on the couch without help. The 11-year-old Australian shepherd appears to be getting around easier since a Maitland, Florida, veterinarian injected stem cells into her arthritic joints in May. The novel therapy has been given to 700 dogs throughout the US to ease arthritis. Scientists think the cells can grow into new tissues and may be a treatment for many conditions in the future. Maggie Mae is helping test the theory. Her owner, Terry Hays of Longwood, Florida, could feel how "crunchy" the dog's hips and other joints had become. She was eager to find relief for the playful and protective shepherd. Hays was taking Maggie Mae to acupuncture treatments and learned of the stem-cell option during one of those appointments. "If this is something that works, it could help many people and many animals someday," Hays said. "I'm just thrilled to think (Maggie Mae has) been a part of it." The stem-cell treatment starts with surgery to remove about 50 grams of fat, typically from the dog's abdomen, explained Dr Jacek de Haan from Affiliated Veterinary Specialists in Maitland. He said all tissue holds some stem cells, and veterinarians use fat because it's typically plentiful and easy to remove. The dogs must be healthy enough to have the surgery, which requires the animals to be put under general anaesthesia. Because anaesthesia comes with risks, de Haan said dogs with other major health issues - such as heart disease or kidney failure - are not good candidates. It's more for dogs that are generally healthy aside from their arthritis. After the fat is removed, it is sent to the California company that has been using it to help horses recover from tendon and other injuries since 2003. Vet-Stem began offering the treatment for dogs with arthritis earlier this year. De Haan said the cost is about $2,500. The company takes the fat sample, isolates the stem cells and returns the solution to the veterinarian, who then injects arthritic joints. There are no guarantees that the dogs will get relief, but many owners report seeing improvements within a month of the treatment, de Haan said. He has treated seven local dogs so far. "Usually, activity level improves, they're able to run more and be more active. If they weren't able to jump on furniture before, they are about to do it afterward," he said. The treatment - because it involves removing and replacing cells from the same animal - is not controversial and not regulated by the government, said Dr Julie Ryan Johnson, a veterinarian and vice-president at Vet-Stem. That also means it hasn't been tested in large-scale, rigorous studies before it hit the market. But one study sponsored by the company compared dogs that were given stem cells with those that received placebo injections. The researchers found that the stem-cell group had significant improvement in their walking and trotting. The animals also had less pain when their joints were manipulated and had greater range of motion. What exactly are the stem cells doing? Short answer: No one knows. Johnson said X-rays of the animals' arthritic joints don't show marked differences after treatment, suggesting that the stem cells are working in subtle ways. "They may be signalling other cells to come in and do different things - to reduce pain and inflammation or build new tissue," Johnson said. "The X-rays may not look any better, but there's definitely something going on there."
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