Veterinary Stem Cell Treatments

Medicine is advancing at such a fast pace that it's often hard to stay up to date. Stem cells have become one of the trendiest fields of study this decade, and it's no surprise, given what they're capable of doing.

Since their use has already been established in humans for some time, "now" it's our dogs who seem to be enjoying their many benefits. From conditions like osteoarthritis, dysplasia, autoimmune diseases, regenerative medicine, all the way to the well-known and feared IBD, also called inflammatory bowel disease.

Although in countries like the United States and England their use is more advanced and dogs treated with them show major improvements, we can't say it's 100% practical in every case. Progress still needs to continue — let's look at all the details.

What Are Stem Cells and How Are They Obtained?

Stem cells are cells present in the bodies of all living beings. They're able to reproduce and differentiate, so you could say they're the origin of other cells. Broadly speaking, we could say they're cells able to repair problems in the body.

In already fully developed adult individuals, like your dog or mine, stem cells act by regenerating damaged tissue in the body (cartilage, muscle, skin…). They work this way because they have a strong capacity to proliferate and differentiate (convert), giving rise to tissues such as fat (adipocytes), bone (osteoblasts), and cartilage (chondrocytes). They're also cells with anti-inflammatory properties, so they can help in this regard when implanted in inflamed tissue.

To obtain them, in veterinary medicine, they can be isolated from bone marrow and fat (adipose tissue). It's less invasive to obtain them from fat, so we need to visit a vet clinic where they'll take a bit of subcutaneous fat from our dog and send it to a specialized lab. The procedure requires anesthesia, but it's very quick since only a small amount is needed.

The lab will extract the stem cells from the fat sample, isolating them and multiplying them in large numbers, greater than what the dog naturally had. They're expanded in a culture and subjected to quality controls.

This process takes around three to four weeks after the fat is sent, so patience is needed. Once a large enough number of stem cells is reached, the lab will send them to the vet to administer them to our dog.

What Diseases Can Stem Cells Treat?

Since this therapy is under continuous study and development, it's not possible to define an exact list of every disease it can cure. Stem cells are a relatively recent discovery, and it's unknown how far they'll be able to go.

That said, thanks to studies already conducted and underway in dogs, it can be said this treatment is offering excellent results for well-known diseases such as:

• Arthritis and osteoarthritis
• Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD)
• Dysplasia (hip and elbow)
• Inflammation of the oral cavity (feline gingivostomatitis)
• Eye diseases
• Chronic kidney failure
• Torn cruciate ligaments
• Dermatitis and allergy problems
• Autoimmune diseases

As mentioned earlier, we can't give an exact number of conditions, since stem cells are believed to potentially be effective for treating more than two hundred diseases initially, with many more likely in the not-too-distant future.

How Are Stem Cells Administered?

Stem cells are given intravenously in a process that usually lasts between three and four hours, meaning they must be administered by the vet. They can also be given directly at the site of injury in cases of osteoarthritis or tendon or ligament injuries, as well as preventively to get ahead of certain conditions.

The maximum effect appears between 4 and 8 weeks. Depending on the disease and clinical response, more than one dose may be needed. Since these are cells from the animal's own body, adverse effects are uncommon.

Every case is different and needs to be assessed individually. If the treatment was effective and we've seen improvement, that improvement should last for many more months. On the other hand, if results aren't as expected within about three months after application, the treatment can be repeated a second time.

The price of a stem cell treatment can range between six hundred and a thousand euros in countries like Spain, depending on many factors such as the price of the chosen lab, the clinic where it's done, etc.

What Should Be Done After a Stem Cell Treatment?

Simply lead a normal life and wait patiently to see results. It's a good idea to take note of the disease's status when the treatment is applied and its status every seven or fifteen days after. This way, we can assess the improvements and how long they took.

Depending on which condition the stem cells were used for, it's worth keeping exercise in mind, since for certain conditions exercise needs to be moderate (osteoarthritis and dysplasia…).