New Adult Stem Cell Therapy
Helps Arthritic Dogs Find Relief
Breakthrough therapy now
available at
Dr.
Loeven of Middlebury Animal Hospital Associates, LLC is now certified to perform
a one-of-a-kind adult stem cell therapy to treat dogs suffering from arthritic pain. Dr. Loeven is credentialed in Vet-Stem Regenerative Cell
(VSRC) therapy, available to veterinarians only since January 2008, and can now
treat arthritis as well as tendon and ligament injuries in dogs.
San
Diego-based Vet-Stem, Inc., the nation’s only company offering
veterinarians fat-derived stem cell therapy, has developed a procedure that
isolates stem and regenerative cells from the
animal’s own fat
for a therapeutic injection into the injured tissue. The cells are isolated and
returned to the authorized veterinarian for treatment of the injured
animal within 48 hours.
“This
is a breakthrough. The cells aren’t foreign to the body,
engineered or modified in any way,” says Dr. Robert Harman, founder of Vet-Stem.
“Fat stem cell therapy avoids the ethical concerns surrounding embryonic
stem cell research because our process uses the animal’s own fat to
isolate adult stem cells.”
After
having clients successfully treat more than 3,000 tendon and ligament injuries
in horses, Vet-Stem unveiled its veterinary training course to small animal
veterinarians. Once a veterinarian completes the VSRC therapy credentialing
course, they will have the education to use VSRCs to treat arthritis, fractures
and tendon/ligament injuries in dogs.
“We’ve
seen stem cell therapy help dogs whose pain was previously so severe that they
struggled to stand, jump into cars, chase balls or run up and down
stairs,” said Dr. Harman. “Stem cell therapy stimulates healthy
cells to grow within the injured area, spurring regeneration.” Stem cells also signal the body to produce
its own natural anti-inflammatory proteins and can increase blood flow to areas
in need.
Since
2005, Vet-Stem has worked with selected veterinarians who have treated dogs with arthritis and tendon/ligament injuries. Initial studies demonstrate that
administration of VSRCs into a joint significantly decreases pain and improves
comfort in the majority of cases. The duration of the benefit from a single
injection varies from several months to more than a year and a half.
Clinical
trials (which were double-blind and placebo controlled) studied the use of
VSRCs for arthritis in dog elbows, hips, and knees and concluded with
successful results that were published in January 2008. Vet-Stem is currently
conducting additional studies for the use of VSRC therapy for certain internal
medicine conditions as well.
In
the case of Vet-Stem’s work with horses, the therapy has shown a return
to prior level of performance rate of 77 percent, 76 percent and 57 percent
respectively in tendon, ligament, and joint injuries. Many horses, such as 2006
U.S. Open polo champion
Currently,
Vet-Stem has trained more than 600 small animal veterinarians on the science
and application of stem cells to treat arthritis and tendon and ligament
injuries.
About
Vet-Stem, Inc.
Vet-Stem,
Inc. was formed in 2002 to bring regenerative medicine to the veterinary
profession. In January of 2004, Vet-Stem introduced the first veterinary stem
cell service in the
For
more information log on to www.vet-stem.com or call 888-387-8361. Interested media should contact Jamie Ortiz,
Bailey Gardiner, at 619.295.8232 x106.