What are stem cells?
Stem cells are cells which are yet undifferentiated and which have the ability to grow into different cell types. They are able to increase in number by themselves. There are two types of stem cells: Embryonic stem cells and adult stem cells. Embryonic stem cells get abstracted from embryos, whereby adult stem cells exist in many different organs of the body with the ability to form different kinds of replacement cells. Only the adult stem cells are important for this therapy.
What happens during stem cell therapy?
The stem cell therapy is a method of treating joint diseases, especially arthritis. This is the most common reason such a therapy is used for dogs. The use of stem cell therapy for canines is still very new and was firstly used for humans and horses.
To start the therapy, some fatty tissue gets extracted of your dog and it gets sent to a lab. There, the cells get isolated and multiplied. Your vet receives those cells afterwards and under sedation, the cells are injected into the joints. Those cells take over the function of those cells which usually produce the joint fluid. Very few vet surgeons perform this kind of therapy, so be sure to do your research on who is best suited to carrying this out.
Advantage of stem cell therapy for dogs
The therapy is still new, but has had plenty of success already. It is an alternative for surgery and with this therapy the dog does not usually require medication anymore. According to this Huffington Post, the treatments for dogs help veterinarians and researchers to learn more about the stem cells and how to use the therapy, for advanced treatments, on humans. Those treatments are for example tested from researchers at Harvard Stem Cell Institute.
Disadvantages of stem cell therapy for dogs
The therapy is still not fully researched and therefore the long-term side effects are not completely known. In addition, it is not clear as to how long the positive outcomes will last for. Also, your pooch won’t be healed completely through this therapy. Even though, the therapy has had a lot of success, it is not certain that it will also work for your dog. Its not a guaranteed solution, its also very expensive costing several thousands of dollars in most cases.
If you are not sure that this is the right choice for your dog, ask for advice from your vet or talk to other dog owners or your dog minder, who might have experience with the therapy.