Mar 30, 2018

Stem Cell Therapy For More Than Arthritis?

Although this blog primarily focuses on stem cells for arthritis, we thought a post about other indications for stem cells might be helpful to some.  We frequently get questions from animal owners about whether or not VetStem Cell Therapy might help with various illnesses or diseases.  Sometimes the answer is yes, sometimes the answer is no.  Oftentimes, the answer is maybe.  In this blog we will cover some of the potential indications for stem cell therapy.  It is important to remember however that all of the following treatments are still in the investigational stages.  VetStem cannot guarantee that your animal will have a favorable outcome, should you decide to have him/her treated with stem cells.

Kidney Disease: This is one of the most frequent inquiries we get.  Unfortunately, many pets will experience kidney disease in their lives.  Kidney disease can be either acute (sudden onset, lasts a short time) or chronic (develops over a long period of time, may worsen over time).    Some veterinarians have treated kidney patients with VetStem Cell Therapy.  While they have seen some favorable results, more investigation is needed to confirm the effect of stem cells on patients with kidney disease.

Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD): IBD is a group of disorders that affect the gastrointestinal tract of dogs.  This is another condition that some VetStem veterinarians have treated with stem cell therapy.  There is literature to suggest that the use of fat-derived stem cells in canine patients with IBD can lead to significant improvement and even complete remission in some cases.  Of course every patient is different and IBD can be very complicated to diagnose so it is important to ensure your dog has a complete workup before pursuing stem cell therapy as a potential treatment option.

Feline Chronic Gingivostomatitis: This is a severe oral inflammatory disease affecting felines.  Cats with this disease may experience oral pain, reduced appetite, and weight loss.  Oftentimes, these cats will need to have all of their teeth extracted and even then, some will still require lifelong medications and treatment.  VetStem Cell Therapy might provide relief.  Two small studies on cats with full mouth extractions conducted at the University of California at Davis have shown that fat-derived stem cell therapy led to improvement or remission in the majority of cats treated. A few veterinarians have seen favorable results using VetStem cell therapy however more investigation is needed.

Exercise Induced Pulmonary Hemorrhage (EIPH): This condition applies specifically to equines.  Many performance horses experience bleeding in their lungs following strenuous exercise.  Traditional therapy includes medications that can reduce the amount of hemorrhaging but don’t actually treat or cure the disease.  In a clinical research program conducted by VetStem, it was determined that the majority of horses treated with VetStem Cell Therapy experienced significant improvement with little to no bleeding post racing.

This is just a small list of what we consider non-standard indications that may respond to stem cell therapy.  As a reminder, these conditions are still in the investigational stages and your animal may or may not respond as expected.  If your animal is suffering from one of these conditions or a condition that is not listed here, it is best to consult with your veterinarian and contact VetStem to get more information about your animal’s specific condition.  You can also contact us here to get a list of veterinary stem cell providers in your area.

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