Oct 8, 2012

Back to School on Stem Cells

Posted by Bob under Dog Arthritis, Dog Stem Cells

Veterinarians are education junkies.  We have continuing education opportunities nearly every week of the month, all year long.  Vet-Stem has been a leader in providing education about regenerative medicine and we provide the ONLY nationally approved regenerative medicine training course for veterinarians.  Over 3,000 veterinarians have been trained in the US in the last four years!  If your veterinarian has not taken the course, recommend they go to the Vet-Stem webpage (www.vet-stem.com) and click on the button “Vet Login” in the upper right corner of the first page.  They can register and take the FREE 3 hour course online at their own pace to become credentialed.  More next time on what they can learn and how that benefits all the patients they might see, especially relating to arthritis in dogs, cats and horses.

Share
Feb 8, 2010

Vet-Stem reaches a milestone! 5,000 pets treated

When we started Vet-Stem in 2002, many people said it was unrealistic and unreasonable to expect that stem cell therapy for dogs and horses would succeed like we had hoped it would.  The following quote is one I always follow:

The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself.  Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man.”  George Bernard Shaw.

Thanks to all of you who trusted that stem cells could help your beloved pet (all 5,000+ of you!), we have started a revolution in the treatment of horses, dogs and cats with arthritis and tendon and ligament injuries. Read the rest of this entry »

Share
Feb 4, 2010

Pet Experts Chat on Pet Sentinel’s Fireside Chats

Posted by Bob under Dog Arthritis, from the vet, Pain in Pets

I wanted to introduce you to our friends at Pet Sentinel.  Pet Sentinel is a site that offers podcasts called Expert Fireside Chats.

Each Fireside Chat is an interview with an accomplished expert/specialist in the field of pet issues (pet health, pet treatment, pet nutrition, pet management, pet psychology, pet care, and so on).   There is a focused 25-minute conversation with them on a topical subject (e.g. new cures for common pet ailments, new nutritional breakthroughs for pets, whole and natural pet foods, insights on pet behavior, natural ways to train and discipline pets (without use of force or any “strict” traditional means) and so on). The conversation is recorded, and the mp3 recording or podcast made available via The Pet Sentinel website to its community.  We were honored to be invited to participate and share what we have learned about using stem cells for dogs with joint pain.

Our episode was recently posted to their website and can be found by clicking the link below.

Episode 2 (12/11/2009): Dr. Bob Harman and Dr. Julie Ryan Johnson’s Expert Fireside Chat (TM) on “Stem-Cell Therapy: The Cutting-Edge of Regenerative Veterinary Medicine”

Share
Jan 14, 2010

New Hope for Rescue Dogs with Bad Joints

Posted by Bob under Concurrent Therapies, Dog Arthritis

Tommy Boy 1I think it is really admirable that many pet owners will adopt from shelters and rescues, thereby giving that lucky dog or cat a whole new life.  Those new pet owners have made an emotional as well as financial investment in their new family members.  Besides behavioral issues, many dogs may have found their way into shelters because former pet owners could not afford the treatment and care for orthopedic issues.  There are also dogs that have been lost or abandoned for some time, and as a result of being on the streets, may have suffered injuries that have not healed correctly.  That is why I wanted to share the story of Tommy Boy, a gorgeous Golden Retriever rescue in the loving care of his foster mom Sarah through the SCGRR, Southern California Golden Retriever Rescue.  Tommy ended up in a shelter and was originally misdiagnosed with bone cancer.  He was taken to a foster home to die in a better setting.  Follow up x-rays and then ultimately an MRI confirmed that Tommy didn’t have cancer but he had a horrible broken pelvis.  Tommy’s veterinarian suggested stem cell therapy to see if an amputation of his rear leg could be avoided.  The rescue then raised the funds for the surgery and Vet-Stem reduced the cost of the stem cell processing and a year later Tommy’s radiographs continue to show improvement.  We wish Tommy and all the rescues out there that help special patients like Tommy a very Happy 2010!

click here to read Tommy Boy’s whole story.

Share
Dec 31, 2009

Ben Ealing, DVM success treating dogs with stem cells

Dr. Ben Ealing has been performing stem cell therapy treatment for dogs since early November 2008. In the eight months he’s been performing this therapy, he’s seen very positive results.

One of our earliest cases is a dog named Sunshine. Read the rest of this entry »

Share
Dec 29, 2009

What does a stem cell lab look like?

lab 2I would imagine that none of you have ever been in a stem cell lab.  It is a fascinating technology and the laboratory used at Vet-Stem is truly state-of-the-art.  We have had hundreds of visitors tour the lab since the opening in 2003, but regular tours are not conducted while samples are being processed.  We handle the fat sample shipped in by a veterinarian with great care and it is never opened to the room air.  We open the sample tube only inside a sterile hood where the air is filtered through a HEPA air filter that removes contaminants such as bacteria or dust.  Below is a look at one of the “hoods” for handling samples.  Read the rest of this entry »
Share
Dec 24, 2009

Stem Cell Therapy For Arthritis – How Long Will It Last?

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 »

Share
Dec 21, 2009

When we lose a close companion…..

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 »

Share
Dec 2, 2009

1 in 4 dogs are affected by arthritis

Posted by Bob under Dog Arthritis

Arthritis affects 46 million humans (1 in 5 adults)1 and 11 million dogs (1 in 4 adult dogs)2. It is a chronic health problem for both people and their canine counterparts, causing pain, loss of mobility, and a diminished quality of life.

For the first time ever, Pfizer Animal Health and the Arthritis Foundation are joining together –this unique partnership between a human-health disease foundation and an animal-health company is the first joint venture to explore the insights, facts, and treatment solutions for both human and canine arthritis sufferers alike. Read the rest of this entry »

Share
Nov 30, 2009

Vet-Stem highlighted in the UK

Garry JenkinsGarry 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

Share