Stem Cell Therapy for Dogs

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ORLANDO, Fla. (Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Stems cells are the breakthrough technology helping people with everything from paralysis to heart disease. Now, a new stem cell therapy is giving relief to dogs and it could soon help people suffering from chronic pain.

Getting a massage from her master is one of Maggie Mae's favorite things. The 10-year-old Australian Shepherd joined Terry Hay's family just a year ago. She was a rescued dog, left abandoned.

"She just touched my heart, really strongly," Hays told Ivanhoe. But the neglect left Maggie in pain, suffering from arthritis.

"She stays pretty still," Hays said. "She moans and groans when she lays down or when she gets up."

To get relief in both hips and elbows, Maggie is set to get one-of-a-kind stem cell therapy. "She has three joints that are -- we hope -- will be positively effected by the stem cell treatment," Hays said.

The vet-stem regenerative cell, or VSRC therapy, is now being used to treat arthritis as well as tendon and ligament injuries in small animals. The stem cells are taken from the dogs own fat.

"It's not from embryo and it's not from the bone marrow," Jeff Peck, D.V.M., a veterinarian at Affiliated Veterinary Specialists in Orlando, Fla., explained to Ivanhoe. "It's taken from fat and that's one of the huge advantages of it because, number one, you always have a donor."

Veterinarians extract fat from Maggie. Stem cells and regenerative cells are then isolated and those cells are injected back into her, directly into her joints.

"We know we are not going to make those tissues normal, but it will suppress inflammation, slow the progression of the degenerative changes and in many cases, provide pain relief," Dr. Peck said.

Fast forward six weeks after surgery...

"Maggie's done really well. She did a leap and I've never seen that before," Dr. Peck said.

And now the same therapy that helped Maggie is moving into clinical trials on a dog's best friend and could someday help humans.

The only other option for Maggie was to have her hips and elbow replaced, which would have cost about $5,000 per replacement. At $2,500, stem cell therapy costs about half of that. The treatment is still too young to tell its long term effects.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:

Affiliated Veterinary Specialists

Orlando, FL

(407) 644-1287

http://www.avsspecialists.com

vet@AVSspecialists.com

To read Ivanhoe's full-length interview with Dr. Peck, click here.

This article was reported by Ivanhoe.com, who offers Medical Alerts by e-mail every day of the week. To subscribe, go to: http://www.ivanhoe.com/newsalert/.