Aug 27, 2008 6:08 pm US/Eastern
Stem Cells Helping Animals Get Better
SAN DIEGO, CA (WBZ) ―
Some injuries that people can deal with can actually end up being deadly for pets, things like arthritis or soft tissue injuries. But now, veterinarians may have found a way to help out animals, and the treatments are coming from stem cells.
Kodiak, 10, has suffered from arthritis most of his life, but three months ago, he took a turn for the worse and couldn't get up. When his owners found out about pet stem cell therapy, they thought, "why not?"
Researchers near San Diego are hoping the contents in a test tube can help other dogs, like Kodiak, and revolutionize some types of pet care.
"It reduces the pain, increases range of motion, and ability to function more normally," said Bob Harman,
Vet-Stem CEO.
The test tube contains a cocktail of stem cells that helps horses and small animals -- mostly dogs -- recover from debilitating conditions like hip dysplasia, fractures, and ligament tears.
Veterinarians remove a small section of fat from a dog's belly. Vet-Stem, the company that created the therapy, then separates the stem cells from the fatty tissue.
Vet-Stem receives more than two dozen samples a day. Veterinarians ship the tubes of fat overnight and get them back the next day.
What they get back are syringes filled with the dog's own stem cells, and they're injected into areas like joints, hips and tendons. The cells help the body develop healthy cartilage in the area where the pet is suffering.
"It really is just your own natural cells," said Harman. "All we do is speed it up, put more of them on the battlefield, quickly."
"Within a few days to a week, you could actually see... It was so fascinating," said Kodiak's owner, Terence Francis. "You could actually see the limbs tightening up."
Some vets are still waiting for more data, but more than 1,000 have already signed up to be certified in the procedure. The Vet-Stem lab work runs about $2,500 to $3,500. Kodiak's owners say it's worth it. "Now that he's, once again, got that pep in his step."
Vet-Stem can also freeze extra stem cells in its cryo-bank in case an animal needs future medical procedures.
(© MMVIII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
