Dear Daisy Dog
My friend’s horse received a stem cell transplant when he was lame, and he’s been fine since. Could a stem cell transplant help my arthritic dog?
Daisy Responds
While stem cell transplants have been used for many years in horses, they are just becoming popular for us dogs.
In dogs, they’re used mostly for osteoarthritis, also called degenerative joint disease (DJD), and tendon and ligament injuries.
Stem cell transplants seem to work, and they have few side effects.
In a study of 18 dogs with DJD of both hips, half the dogs received stem cell injections, while the other dogs were injected with an inactive placebo.
The treated group showed significant improvement in range of motion, pain and lameness.
If you decide to try stem cell therapy, your veterinarian will surgically remove some fat from your dog and send it to Vet-Stem, Inc.
The company will harvest the stem cells and return them to your veterinarian, who will inject them into your dog’s arthritic joints.
If the procedure is successful, the injection will provide relief for several months to over a year.
If you’re interested, ask your veterinarian to review the information on www.vet-stem.com.
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