A common question pet owners ask when considering treatments for their dog or cat. I asked two very prominent veterinarians, Dr. Jamie Gaynor and Dr. Mike Hutchinson, to share with us their thoughts on this concern.

Dr. Jamie Gaynor, Owner of Peak Performance Veterinary Group, boarded anesthesiologist  and internationally recognized pain expert likes to remind pet owners about the value of quality of life.  Though an older dog may not have a long lifespan, the quality of those last months is extremely important.  For example, a thirteen year old dog may not live more than an additional 2 years- but making those dogs feel better, move more comfortably during the remaining time left is a blessing to both dog and pet owner.  He feels it is all about the quality of life.

Dr. Mike Hutchinson, Owner of Animal General of Cranberry and host of his own radio program, Animal General relayed to me the following story. Read the rest of this entry »

When your pet is treated with adipose stem cells for arthritis in their joints, it is common to ask how long the treatment will last and when should you expect to need to retreat.  In survey data returned from owners of dogs treated with Vet-Stem therapy, over 2/3 of all dogs are not retreated during the first year.  Read the rest of this entry »

This blog is all about hope and helping our furry friends have the best quality of life possible.  But eventually, we all reach that point where we have to decide if it is time to say goodbye.  In each of our lifetimes, we may have to tread this path 4-5 times, or more for those of us with multiple buddies.

My wife, Sue and I had to make this decision this last week.  Our border collie, Ritz, was 13.  A sudden paralysis of her hind end was the first symptom.  Since we are in the stem cell business, I immediately took her to a quality clinic here in San Diego, and Dr. Nancy Hampel did a complete examination.  Read the rest of this entry »

I was recently interviewed on a live pod cast with my friends at Pet Sentinel and I am always blown away by the love and dedication that pet owners have towards their best friends.  I thought in this blog I would address a lot of the common questions that came up during our discussion.  A common question was “Can I store the extra cells for use in the future?”  So if you and your veterinarian have chosen stem cell therapy as the right choice for your pet, then you already understand the basic process:  your vet will collect a small fat sample, the lab purifies out the stem cells, and then they are injected back into the painful joint.  But that is not the end of the story.  Read the rest of this entry »

Garry Jenkins, based in London, has written a great post about stem cells for dog arthritis on his blog Canine Health.

He covers what Stem Cell Therapy is, how it works, and how stem cells can improve your dog’s life.

“Dogs suffer from a range of orthopaedic problems – from arthritis, osteoarthritis and hereditary dysplasia of the hip and elbow joints, to torn tendons and ligaments and bone fractures. Veterinarians have begun achieving startling results with a revolutionary new treatment, involving the injection of stem cells extracted from the patient’s own fatty tissue.” Read more…

A common question is “when will this be available for humans?” New therapies do take longer to be allowed in people, but the good news is that Vet-Stem has collected very valuable data from the thousands of dogs and horses that we have helped veterinarians treat for OA and tendon and ligament injuries. The dog is actually a very good model for human osteoarthritis. Dogs are also prone to similar soft tissue injuries such as cruciate ligament ruptures (ACL, knee injury) and tears, conditions that veterinarians have seen great improvement in healing by using stem cells. Read the rest of this entry »

With the advent of the internet the amount of information both accurate and interesting is absolutely amazing. As a veterinarian I am constantly challenged to keep current with all the latest advancements, and with stem cells this can really be a challenge. A common search engine for medical literature is PubMed (use www.pubmed.gov if link does not work). Over the past few years the number of reviewed papers on fat derived stem cells has seen incredible growth. There are advances in what stem cells are being used for and in the knowledge of how stem cells do what they do. Read the rest of this entry »

Owners have sent us some great videos of their dogs that have been treated with their
own stem cells from fat. One video link is below, but more can be found at www.vetstem.
com


WKRG.com News

Results do vary, and not all are as dramatic as for Bear. While owner surveys showed
that over 80% of dogs treated did improve, that does mean that 20% had little or no change.

No matter what treatments are used, it is important to note that weight loss, a
personalized rehab and exercise program and good teamwork between you and your
veterinarian will help your pet get the most out of the treatment.

Do you take videos of your dog? This could help you to see if they are showing signs
of arthritis and pain.

You will be surprised to find that it is not only possible, but over 2,000 dogs in the US with arthritis and tendon injuries have already been treated with their OWN stem cells from fat. Yes, their own.

Remember the saying “Patient Heal Thyself?” We all, human and animals, carry around a stem cell repair kit that is used every day in helping heal the minor bumps, bruises, cuts and more serious injuries. These stem cells are called “Adult” stem cells and are found throughout the body. They sit there waiting for the signal that they are needed and they rush to the scene of the injury and begin the healing process. When the body can’t heal the injury totally, then scar tissue fills in so that the body can function. Read the rest of this entry »