Stem cell therapy goes to the dogs

 BY MICHELLE STOFFEL TRIBLOCAL REPORTER FEB. 15 AT 8:00 A.M.

Things were getting bad for Doodle. Despite her youthful name, the 9-year-old German Shepherd was experiencing joint pain from bilateral hip dysplasia and osteoarthritis. She would get sore and tired from long weekend walks and started falling up the stairs.

Her owners, the Dahl family of Oak Brook, had tried different options before landing on animal stem cell regenerative therapy, a procedure that’s a hot topic in the veterinary world. Last week, Doodle received reportedly the first such one-day operation in Illinois at the Veterinary Specialty Center in Buffalo Grove.

The practice of using stem cells, derived from the animal’s fat, to treat joint problems could be discouraging for pet owners because of cost and timing. The animal used to have to go twice to a vet hospital: once for surgery to remove fat cells and once again for the injection of the stem cells into the inflamed joint.  The cost was around $2,700.

Leslie Dahl, Doodle’s owner and a veterinarian herself, didn’t want to go that route. She had tried anti-inflammatory medication, but Doodle’s stomach couldn’t handle it. She tried collagen injections, but they didn’t fully relieve Doodle of her pain. Plus, the animal already was difficult at the vet’s and she was concerned that Doodle would get too anxious between the visits.

So when the Veterinary Specialty Center started looking into a new procedure that allows the stem cells to be processed in the same facility on the same day for about $1,900, Dahl was intrigued.

The process is essentially the same. Fat is removed and then processed by being put in a centrifuge and spun until the stoma stem cells are separated. They are then isolated, activated and injected back into the animal.

In the clinic before a lab was established, the cells were shipped to California, said Mitch Robbins, a surgeon at the Veterinary Specialty Center. The pet would be under anesthesia for removal of the cells, then a second time for the re-injection.

Doodle’s operation, and that of another dog called Fergus, were the center’s firsts in which the stem cells were processed in house, Robbins said.

He said he’s seen about 70 to 80 percent of the animals improve significantly with the treatment that’ s been available since about 2005.

“It’s been around for a little while,” said Kimberly May, a veterinarian and assistant director of professional and public affairs for the Schaumburg-based American Veterinary Medical Association. “We’ve actually been using it in horses for quite a while; now it’s being promoted for joint disease and hip dysphasia. It’s definitely growing, especially for pet owners who are hearing all these anecdotal stories.”

Research is progressing on the treatment’s effectiveness, May said.

“You find out what it really works for and where it doesn’t work,” she said. “We’re still in that stage with the stem cell procedures.”

Robbins said success depends on the animal’s ailments. Pets that don’t respond may be experiencing pain from a source other than  inflammation of the tissues around the joint.

“Some dogs do better, some do worse, some don’t respond at all,” he said.

On average, the animals he treats get re-injected every 18 months, he said. The cells can be stored, with subsequent procedures costing about $600.

Robbins believes the one-day procedure and lower cost will encourage more pet owners to help out their older dogs with arthritis or inflammatory problems. Dahl said her family would have had to euthanize Doodle if pain prevented her from moving, but that would have been a really tough decision since they embrace the dog’s quirky personality.

So far, Doodle’s recovery has been going well. It takes about 10 days to heal from the initial surgery and about four to five weeks to see results.

Doodle is still throwing balls to herself and performing stuffed animal tricks, but is not quite back to going up and down stairs.

“I don’t expect this is going to be a magic bullet to give her back her youth,” Dahl said. “But to get her where she’s not falling and she’s not in pain after going for just a moderate walk, that’s quality of life.

Stem cell therapy goes to the dogs — Buffalo Grove news, photos and events — TribLocal.com.

Professor Birchall carried out the world’s first stem cell transplant of a windpipe in 2008.  Now he wants a clinical trial so he can help 1,300 patients a year with larynx problems. Well done sir!  – dg

Australia is starting to catch up.  This procedure has been done in Asia, Europe and South America…just not in the USA or Australia. – dg

Sensorineural hearing loss occurs when hearing cells in the cochlea lose their function. Frequently inherited, and usually starting during infancy and early childhood, the condition can slow a child’s development and lead to speech and language problems.

Drs Jeremy Sullivan, Sonali Pandit and Sharon Oleskevich from Sydney’s Garvan Institute of Medical Research, found that stem cells appear to release ‘factors’, or chemical substances, that help preserve the function of cochlear hearing cells, without the stem cells becoming part of the tissue of the inner ear. Their findings are published in STEM CELLS, now online.

“We are exploring the potential of stem cells to prevent or restore hearing loss in people,” said project leader Dr Sharon Oleskevich.

“The mice we are using have a very similar form of childhood deafness to their human counterparts – except, of course that mouse years are shorter. So a mouse will tend to lose their hearing within 3 months, where a person might take 8 years.”

“We are encouraged by our initial findings, because all the mice injected with stem cells showed improved hearing in comparison with those given a sham injection. Roughly half of the mice did very well indeed, although it is important to note that hearing was not completely restored to normal hearing levels.”

Adult human nasal stem cells were used in the procedure, because they are plentiful, easy to obtain and unspecialised (so have the ability to self-renew for long periods, as well as differentiate into cells with a variety of functions).

The same group of scientists has shown in previous publications that stem cells can also be used to improve hearing in noise-induced hearing loss – a condition that affects both young and older people.

It has taken 5 years to reach the current stage of research, and scientists anticipate that it will take a further decade at least for the findings to benefit people.

How nasal stem cells might prevent childhood deafness – insciences.

Menstrual blood stem cell banking being launched in India | TwoCircles.net.

How to Donate Menstrual Blood for Stem Cell Research

The use of menstrual blood as a resource for stem cells has been an interesting development in the field of bioresearch. The idea of collecting stem cells has been a controversial one at times. With this new method, there is no moral dilemma for anyone involved. In the future, people will benefit from the open availability of these types of stem cells. Currently, one company has the market cornered in the collection and storage of menstrual blood for stem cells. The company is called C’Elle. Collecting and storing your menstrual blood for its stem cells is easy.

Instructions-things you’ll need:

1. • 1

     Order your collection kit from C’Elle through their company website (see Resources).

   • 2

     Freeze the cooling packs that arrive with your C’Elle collection kit immediately upon arrival and continuously until you are ready to package your collections and send them back via FedEx.

   • 3

     To collect your menstrual blood, insert the provided menstrual cup in place of a tampon. This cup needs to be left in for three hours to collect your first of two specimens.

   • 4

     Take the menstrual cup out. It should have about a teaspoon of fluid in it. Carefully place this fluid into the provided vials of solution.

   • 5

     Refrigerate your first specimen while you collect your second.

   • 6

     Replace your menstrual cup for another three hours and repeat the collection process for your second vial. One vial will be used for storage and the other will be used for infectious disease testing.

   • 7

     Remove your cooling packs from the freezer; the first specimen from the refrigerator and package both specimens and the cooling packs in your original collection kit box after you have collected both specimens.

   • 8

     Ship your collection kit back to C’Elle using the provided airbilled FedEx box.

Read more: How to Donate Menstrual Blood for Stem Cell Research | eHow.comhttp://www.ehow.com/how_4587255_menstrual-blood-stem-cell-research.html#ixzz1Ia5iwhot