News and Announcements
Stem Cell Therapy for Pets
Anacapa Animal Hospital now offers regenerative stem cell therapy for dogs and cats. Vet-Stem is a regenerative stem cell company that isolates autologous stem cells from your pet's own fat sample. Vet-Stem Regenerative Cells contain stem cells and a variety of cells to help regulate inflammation, cause revascularization, modulate immune function, and regenerate tissue. These are used to treat a variety of traumatic and degenerative diseases such as tendon and ligament injuries, bone fractures, osteoarthritis, and polyarthritis.
The following is an adaptation of an article by Dr. Tracy Lord. It provides a great overview of the regenerative stem cell therapy.
"For many of us, the term stem cell brings to mind associations with hotly debated moral and ethical issues. There is, however, another side of stem cells and stem cell therapy. I am very excited to report that stem cell therapy has arrived in the veterinary arena without controversy or contest. The process uses stem cells collected from an adult body's own fat. A company called Vet-Stem is currently working with certified veterinarians to provide stem cell therapy for their patients. Currently, we are able to offer this treatment option for dogs, cats and horses.
So how is it that an adult body still has stem cells? Stem cells are simply undifferentiated cells that can be found in most tissues in the body. These cells remain primitive or undifferentiated, waiting for the body to need them. Many people think of their bodies and cells working in a very quiet and orderly fashion. This is, however, far from reality. Our bodies are like a war zone. Inside- there is chaos and destruction everywhere. On a microscopic level, the body is constantly rebuilding just to maintain itself. Our body calls on these undifferentiated cells every day to maintain health in our organs, in bones and on the skin. Without stem cells, we could not survive.
A single stem cell is able to differentiate or turn into many different tissues such as tendon, cartilage, bone or organ depending where it goes. The controversy on the human side is over using embryonic stem cells. These cells, taken from embryos, have the ability to form whole beings- to create an entire new person, dog or sheep. Adult stem cells on the other hand, have the ability to differentiate into many different types of tissues but work to "repair". This makes these cells very useful for healing tissues or potentially organs.
In animals, we now have a way to harvest adult stem cells, collect and process them and then replace them in the body where they are needed. The amazing part is that the cells take care of the rest. Stem cell therapy is also known as regenerative medicine. The cells will regenerate the tissue in its close environment.
Currently the process is open for treatment of osteoarthritis, tendon and ligament injuries, and poorly healing fractures. Once a patient has been deemed a candidate for treatment, he or she undergoes a short surgical procedure to collect fat. The fat is most often harvested from around their shoulders or pelvic area. Fat, especially from these areas, is a rich source of stem cells. In fact a small amount, less than 1/2 a cup, can potentially provide enough cells for multiple treatments for your animal. After collection, this fat is shipped to a company called Vet-Stem who then harvests and processes the cells and sends those needed back to the veterinarian for injection. The number of cells harvested varies from patient to patient depending on the "quality of their fat" so to speak.
The entire process is generally completed in three days. The costs will vary, depending on the number of joints treated, but $3000.00 to $3600.00 would be a good estimate. For the patient, the procedure involves a surgery for fat collection and then usually sedation to inject the harvested and processed cells back into joints, tendons or ligaments two days later. If enough cells are harvested, the Vet-Stem Company will store those cells not needed for the first round of therapy and hold them for later use. Since the cells are autologous (supplied by the patient for its own use) there is no chance for rejection. Studies are presently ongoing for use of this therapy in treatment of liver failure, feline kidney disease, irritable bowel syndrome and various autoimmune conditions. Thus far the procedure is most commonly used to arthritis and the results have been impressive. Decreased pain with improved mobility, a win-win combination. It is exciting to think where this therapy could lead us. What it has to offer presently, and what it could offer to our animal friends in the future."
Vet-Stem has been conducting clinical studies on the treatment of fat derived stem cells on dogs since 2005. Studies have shown great improvement in the pet's quality of life, pain relief, mobility, and joint range of motion. Some dogs are able to discontinue or dramatically reduce pain medications. Since the pet's own cells are used, there is no chance for rejection. No significant adverse reactions have been reported in dogs treated.
Which dogs (or cats) are good candidates?
1. Dogs that have not responded to non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.2. Dogs that cannot tolerate non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.
3. Dogs that are not good candidates for orthopedic surgery.
4. Dogs that have early arthritis.
5. Dogs that have multiple joints afflicted with arthritis
Once in your dogs joint the stem cells:
1. Are anti-inflammatory.2. Change into the specific cell type needed to repair a given area, like cartilage.
3. Provide growth factors to support healing tissue.
4. Home to the injured area for quick repair including revitalizing weakened cells.
5. Support immune system function.
Overview of the procedure:
Day One:
Dr. Burner collects a small fat sample from the patient. This requires a minor surgical procedure under anesthesia. The sample is shipped priority overnight to the Vet-Stem laboratory in California.Day Two:
Vet-Stem processes the fat sample and concentrates the Vet-Stem Regenerative Cells. The cells are shipped back to Anacapa Animal Hospital priority overnight in ready to inject syringes. Any additional stem cells extracted beyond the initial dose will be stored by Vet-Stem for future injections (additional charges may apply for banking).Day Three:
Dr. Burner injects the Vet-Stem Regenerative Cells directly into the injured site of the patient.Patient Requirements:
- Your pet must have been examined within the last 2 weeks by Dr. Burner. This will need to be done prior to the morning of the procedure so that all treatment options can be discussed.
- Pre-anesthetic blood work within 2 weeks of fat harvest to determine your pet is a healthy candidate for the surgery. This can be performed the morning of the surgery in our in-house laboratory.
- If your pet has osteoarthritis, radiographs will be required to confirm the diagnosis. These can also be taken the morning of surgery.
- If your pet has cancer or suspicion of cancer or an ongoing infection, it will be disqualified.
The estimated cost for the fat harvest, processing, banking of stem cells for one year, and initial injection (one site) is $3200.00. For more information on regenerative stem cell therapy please visit Vet-Stem's website at www.Vet-Stem.com.
If you think your pet might be a candidate for regenerative stem cell therapy, please call Anacapa Animal Hospital at (805) 644-5521 to schedule a consultation with Dr. J. Burner.
Pet News - Archives
04/08/09 - Stem Cell Therapy for Pets
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03/15/09 - ProBNP - Human Cardiac Screening Tests offers Early Detection for Pets
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02/10/09 - Volunteerism Abroad for Pets
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01/20/09 - Peanut Butter Recall and Pet Products
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10/15/08 - View the Winning Photos of the 2008 Anacapa Photo Contest
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07/20/08 - TEAM AMAZING DOG PACK Raises most pledges for Pooch Parade
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05/05/08 - Employee Spotlight: Tracy Darling read more
02/01/08 - Comfortis flea preventative now available
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11/21/07 - New Digital X-ray at Anacapa adds to our commitment to quality
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07/21/07 - Anacapa voted Vet Superheroes at the 10th annual Pooch Parade
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02/01/07 - Pet Food Recall Update
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