Stem Cells Go to the Dogs

Stem cell research is a field that is offering benefits for not only humans but also for their
K-9 counterparts. While the ideal of fixing spinal injuries and curing disease may be a long way off, dogs treated with stem cells are already enjoying a new lease on life.

The story of 10-year old Pepper is a prime example of the effectiveness of this stem cell therapy. The standard poodle was crippled with arthritis in both his hips so his owners brought him to see James Gaynor, DVM, M.S., medical director of Animal Anesthesia & Pain Management Center in Colorado Springs, Colo. The conventional treatments that they had tries had had no affect and may have even made him sicker. Upon arriving they full expected Pepper to have to be put to sleep, they were so sure in fact that they had already gone ahead and bought another puppy.

"At our 60 day recheck, the owner was hugging me and crying out of happiness because, in her words, we gave her back her dog," Dr. Gaynor says. "The only problem was she now had Pepper and a puppy."

Not long ago that dogs like Pepper with arthritis were left with few options beyond conventional anti-inflammatory but now stem cells are providing an alternative. One California-based company, Vet-Stem, uses stem cells from dogs' own fat to treat animals in pain.

According to DVM, vice president of sales and marketing, Julie Ryan Johnson, fat cells are very rich in stem cells making it an ideal source, and one that is nearly free from controversy.

"The way we do this is a veterinarian will send us a sample of the dog's fat," Dr. Ryan Johnson says. "We isolate the stem cells from that and then send the stem cells back to the veterinarian who injects them back into the dog -- for example, into an arthritic hip or elbow."

Richard Vulliet, Ph.D., DVM, professor and director of the Laboratory of Veterinary Cytotherapeutics at UC Davis, says stem cells haven't cured any diseases yet, but researchers are working hard to change that. "I think that stem cells in general will rewrite the medical textbooks in the next 10 to 20 years," Dr. Vulliet says. "They will have an impact on human, canine, feline and equine health and will allow us to treat diseases that we can only dream about at this time."

According to Tony Kremer, DVM, an Illinois-based veterinary surgeon, there is hope that stem cell therapy might one day be used to treat diabetes and muscular dystrophy in dogs.

"It is hoped that this research can repair or replace diseased organs, severed spinal cords, or brain cells destroyed by Alzheimer's disease in humans and dogs," he says.

Soon dogs may be able to get breakthrough treatment in the areas of degenerative myelopathy, a debilitating autoimmune disease that attacks the central nervous system, particularly of German Shepherds; enlarged and weakened hearts in Dobermans; lung and metabolic disorders.

If you are considering stem cell therapy for your dog though you should weigh all the risks especially after it was found that injecting stem cells into the coronary arteries of university-owned dogs created mini heart attacks, the procedures were stopped until the technique had been improved. There are also risks that come along with surgery from anesthesia. The biggest health threat he has seen is fluid pockets forming at the site of the surgery, which is a relatively minor problem.

The idea of now even animals benefitting from stem cells is amazing. There are too many suffering animals out there that have to be put down because medications aren't working. So stem cells are an encouraging option to help relieve animals of their pain. Also the fat cells used avoid any controversies. Even with the minor risks I think that the procedure is an incredible option especially for those animals that have no choice left.