Adult Stem Cells: A Promising New Treatment for Osteoarthritis

Arthritis is as painful and incapacitating for pets as it is for anyone. Medications, sometimes surgery, do a good job of helping in most cases. But for dogs and cats who continue to struggle, stem cell therapy can make all the difference.

Adult stem cells work very differently than the embryonic version we have all heard so much about. Embryonic stem cells are controversial in humans because they come from human embryos. They are unique because they can be used to reform an entire organ. But they come from a different individual so they can be rejected.

Adult stem cells, used for joint disease, are very different because they are taken from that pet’s own fat reserves. It’s a safe process because the complication risk is very low. Stem cells are injected into the arthritic joint where they accelerate and optimize the pet’s own innate natural healing process. It’s an exciting new treatment.

How it works:

• A small amount of the pet’s fat is surgically removed and shipped overnight to a lab where the stem cells are isolated under sterile conditions. Stem cells are returned to us 48 hours later.
• Giving a pet his/her own stem cells “delivers concentrated regenerative cells to the injury site resulting in the rapid recruitment of many types of cells necessary for a more complete regeneration of the entire injured tissue”.*
• Adult stem cells can differentiate into many different types of tissue after they reach the site.
• Adult stem cells reduce scarring in the affected joint.
• Adult stem cells have growth factors and stimulate resident cells to become more active.
• They reduce pre-inflammatory mediators and increase anti-inflammatory mediators in the joint.
• Adult stem cells “home” to the injury site.
• They are best injected directly into the joint space.
• When there are multiple joints involved they can also be given intravenously. The stem cells will travel to the area of inflammation.
• IV administration is helpful but shorter acting than joint injections.
• Adult stem cells home directly to injured cartilage.
• Adult stem cells have been called “An injury specific, perfectly choreographed pharmaceutical.”

Why use fat?

• Fat contains high stem cell counts. There is no need to culture them. The lab can process the fat cells in only 48 hours.
• Fat cells are a healing family of cells.
• Fat is easy to access with minimal surgical intervention. There is plenty of it on every pet.
• There is no FDA restriction on stem cells that are taken from the same individual who will receive them.
• There is a high margin of safety. The risk of rejection is very low.

How is it done?

• After a thorough history and physical exam a blood and urine profile is submitted to determine if a pet is a safe candidate for stem cell treatment. We will only treat pets who we feel are likely to respond well.
• Recent x-rays are evaluated to determine which joint(s) should have stem cell treatments.
• Surgery, and stem cell implantation 48 hours later, are scheduled. A cash or credit card deposit will be taken for stem cell processing.
• On the day of fat harvesting the pet is given a short acting general anesthetic. An area behind the shoulder or under the abdomen is prepped for aseptic surgery. Removal of the fat sample takes about 30 minutes. Your pet can go home later the same day.
• The fat specimen is then shipped overnight, packaged in a special container to maintain a constant temperature.
• Two days later the stem cells will arrive ready to be injected into the affected joint(s) and/or intravenously.
• Joint injections usually necessitate a reversible sedative to keep the pet still.
• Sedation is important to allow accurate placement of the cells in the joint as well as to maintain sterility.
• Your dog won’t need to stay in the hospital overnight for either procedure.

If you would like my help you are welcome to schedule an appointment for me to examine your dog or cat by calling 898.8874. Be sure to say that you want to see me, Dr. Nichol, specifically. You are welcome to call my home office (792.5131) if you have specific questions.

So that a blood and urine profile can be submitted at the time of exam, allow your pet to have normal access to water but withhold food for 12 hours prior to your appointment. Try not to give your pet an opportunity to urinate for 3-4 hours before the exam.

Click here http://www.vet-stem.com/ for a link to the Vet-Stem web site for information directly from the stem cell lab.

* Frank Borstyankoi, DVM, Diplomate ACVS and Robert Harman, DVM, MPVM  Stem Cell Therapy of Small Animal Degenerative and Traumatic Diseases published in Advances in Veterinary Medicine July, 2007.