StemCell Therapy

At three years old, Justin, a German Shepherd-cross, seems too young to be afflicted with osteoarthritis.

But his early life, marred by abuse, left Justin with arthritis, hip dysplasia, flesh-eating disease and a cracked molar. “He is a big mess. A lot of people would euthanize him, but I don’t want to give up on him,” said Jamie Lee, a Vancouverite who adopted Justin nine months ago from an animal rescue group.

The mission to relieve Justin’s pain brought Ms. Lee to the frontier of veterinary medicine: stem-cell therapy.

It’s one of the holistic practices, including raw food, acupuncture and massage, showcased at The Petnership Project Tradeshow and Lecture Series in Vancouver on Saturday.

Justin broke one of his legs as a puppy, but his owners never took him to the vet. The injury resulted in osteoarthritis that spread to his other limbs.

The specialist said they could try an implant to relieve the pain, but there was a high risk that failure could lead to amputation, Ms. Lee said.

Instead, Ms. Lee decided to try an innovative treatment called stem-cell therapy, a procedure that extracts cells from the animal’s fat and moves them into the injured area to jump-start healing.

The procedure took less than 48 hours, even though the fat was shipped to a San Diego-based company called Vet-Stem. The company extracts cells from the fat tissue and sends back a needle to be inserted into the pet’s source of pain.

Ms. Lee said Justin’s mobility has gradually increased by 50 per cent after the surgery. Now the pooch, who could barely walk, can stroll for an easy 30 minutes.

But pain relief doesn’t come cheap: Ms. Lee spent around $4,000 to get treatment for all four of Justin’s joints.

The average treatment cost runs between $1,200 and $1,500, said Loridawn Fawcett of Vancouver’s The Healing Place, who advised Justin’s treatment. The treatment only has to be done once, unless there is a new injury, she said.

Results can take up to three months, said Dr. Fawcett, adding the success rate is 80 per cent.

Most dogs have the therapy to treat arthritis, but it can help heal fractures, tendon-ligament injuries and liver disease, said Dr. Fawcett.

This therapy goes beyond stem-cell treatments available for humans in Canada, which require adult stem cells to be taken from a donor’s bone marrow. Research into whether humans can successfully harvest and use their own stem cells for regenerative therapy is ongoing, but is not yet approved.

While it may be exciting, Thomas Koch of the Ontario Veterinary College cautions the science behind the therapy is not proven. The cells may have a therapeutic effect, he said, but scientists don’t know exactly how or why.

“The marketing is trumping the science and it’s obviously feeding off the hope and hype in the whole area of regenerative medicine,” said Dr. Koch. Still, the procedure seems safe in terms of infection because patients are receiving their own cells, he said, adding that there is still a risk people are paying for ineffective therapy.

It was worth it for Justin, said Ms. Lee.

She advises other pet owners considering the option to do some research, get a full blood test and consult with their vet about whether stem cell therapy is the right choice for their pet.

“If something goes wrong in surgery, you cannot go back,” said Ms. Lee. “With stem-cell therapy, what’s the worst that can happen? You pay more money.”

This entry was posted on June 25, 2010 at 12:56 pm and is filed under Veterinary Medicine. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed. |