By Sharon L. Peters, Special for USA TODAY
A crooked front wrist, evident when she was a puppy, was just the beginning. Eventually, arthritis ravaged every joint. "We tried everything" to relieve the pain and maintain her mobility, Hammer says. But by last fall, at age 11, Maggie was "creaky, creaky, didn't want to get up, couldn't go for walks." She kept her head low because of pain and wasn't very interested in food.
"Maggie was a mess," says Mary Anne Smith, the dog's veterinarian since puppyhood. "She had issues in all four legs and quite possibly in her back." She compares the dog to a car "with four low tires and, on some days, three lows and a flat."
Around Thanksgiving, on Smith's recommendation, Hammer took Maggie to Colorado Springs veterinarian James Gaynor, who specializes in pain management and is among about 250 veterinarians trained in a cutting-edge therapy using stem cells extracted from a dog's own fat. The process, patented and made commercially available by California-based Vet-Stem, has generated excitement in veterinary circles. Practitioners gave a session last month at the North American Veterinary Conference in Orlando; they'll speak at the Western Veterinary Conference in Las Vegas next week and give a symposium at the American Veterinary Medical Association's July conference in New Orleans.
'She's a different dog'
Nearly 300 dogs have had the procedure, says Vet-Stem founder and veterinarian Bob Harman, and 85% of those the company has been able to follow up with experienced "slight to very substantial" improvement.
Within days of Maggie's procedure, she felt better; today, "she's a different dog," Hammer says. "She's able to walk, is pretty fast on her feet, and she wags her tail, something she hasn't been able to do for years."
The procedure, which runs $2,000 to $2,500, involves surgically removing about 2 tablespoons of fat from the dog and shipping it overnight to Vet-Stem, which isolates stem cells and returns them in syringes to the vet, who injects joints.
"This is probably the most exciting development I've seen in 25 years," says Beaverton, Ore., veterinarian Tim McCarthy, who has treated about 20 dogs, most in association with arthroscopic surgery; "only one didn't get any better."
Stem cells from fat and bone marrow have been investigated for both human and animal applications (several veterinary schools are engaged in studies) in recent years. It's known that stem cells are regenerative, take up residence around injured tissue and have anti-inflammatory properties, but much of how they work and why is unknown, Vet-Stem molecular biologist and veterinarian Linda Black says.
The approach doesn't require Food and Drug Administration approval because "minimally manipulated" cells are extracted and re-injected into the same animal, she says. And because animals receive their own cells, there's no rejection.
Apart from the normal risk attached to the anesthesia, Harman says, there seems to be no downside except for rare brief inflammation at the extraction site.
Half the veterinarians who have been credentialed (through attending a half-day session or completing a four-hour online course) to do the process on small animals practice in California; 25 states have no one trained in the process, according to a list posted on the Vet-Stem website, which names 200 of the 250.
Vet-Stem first began using the process in 2004 on horses with tendon, ligament and joint problems (455 large-animal vets are certified), and most improved. Critics say most of them would have healed on their own with time, a position many of the animals' trainers dispute. In canine applications, little criticism has emerged.
"Everything I've heard so far has been very positive," says Brenda Salinardi, a veterinarian at Oregon State University Veterinary Teaching Hospital. She has used the procedure on a dog with severe arthritis, which "is doing very well."
Gaynor has used stem cell therapy on 27 dogs "and all improved — some more than others," but he acknowledges many questions remain. It's unclear how long the positive effects will last, whether follow-up injections will improve results or which animals are unlikely to benefit.
A step for desperate owners
The unanswered questions are irrelevant to Gaynor's clients eager for help for their pets. Judy McCollam's Shetland sheepdog Cassie was so severely disabled by arthritis in her hips that "when we'd take her for walks, we'd wind up carrying her," she says. And "watching her get up from a nap was like watching a really old dog get up." Cassie was on strong painkillers, and she was not yet 2 years old. McCollam, of Fountain, Colo., opted for the stem cell procedure. Within days, Cassie was better, McCollam says, and two months later, "she seems not to be in any pain."
Owners who are desperate for an ailing dog to feel better can convince themselves interventions are helping when, in fact, by impartial measures, that's untrue. But veterinarians who have used the procedure say they've generally been able to chart measurable improvement.
Smith, who treated Maggie for more than a decade, says the dog is "hard to evaluate because she had multiple joint issues," but the veterinarian detected "marked improvement" soon after the procedure. "She is much more confident walking, her gait is much more fluid, and she has greater mobility getting up and down."
Vet-Stem is investigating a handful of additional dog and cat ailments and diseases that might benefit from stem cell therapy.
This Article From:http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2008-02-12-dog-arthritis_N.htmBIOTECH COMPANY DEVELOPED BRAIN DISEASE TREATMENT
By Steve Johnson
Mercury News
One of six children with a brain disease who were given a stem-cell treatment developed by StemCells of Palo Alto in a groundbreaking study, has died apparently from her disease, the company said Friday.
The unidentified 9-year-old girl, who died earlier this week, had been given the nerve stem cells derived from fetal tissue in January last year to treat neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis, also known as Batten disease, the company said in a prepared statement. The disease is a rare and always fatal condition that affects children.
The girl, who received the treatment at Oregon Health & Science University's Doernbecher Children's Hospital, became critically ill from an apparent viral infection, seizures and respiratory distress, and was hospitalized nearly two weeks ago, the statement said.
Based upon an initial review by Doernbecher doctors, a committee of experts monitoring the study and StemCells' medical specialists, the girl's death was believed due to the natural progression of her disease rather than from the stem cells she received, the company said.
Children with Batten disease - which is caused by genetic mutations - suffer seizures and progressive loss of motor skills, sight and mental capacity, before eventually becoming blind, bedridden and unable to communicate. The stem-cell treatment was the first ever tried with children suffering from the malady.
StemCells initially asked the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in December
2004 for permission to conduct the unprecedented test on children. After asking the company for more information about how the surgery would be done and whether it risked causing cancer, the federal agency gave its permission Oct. 20, 2005.
Batten disease is caused by a defective gene that fails to create an enzyme the brain needs. By injecting the fetal stem cells into the brains of the six children, researchers involved in the study said they hoped the cells would help the brains produce the missing enzyme.
StemCells' statement added that the company is continuing to investigate the death and has been in contact with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration about the matter.
"These patients are in the very late stage of the disease and that is one of the criteria of enrollment" in the study, which is designed to determine if the treatment has any unsafe side effects, said StemCells Chief Executive Officer, Martin McGlynn.
"Coming into the study they have no prospect of survival," he added. The fact that one of them has died is a reminder of "how important it is to find a therapy or even a cure for this devastating disease."
All of the children who received the treatment were under the age of 13, said McGlynn, who noted that the surviving youngsters will be monitored by medical officials until the early part of 2009, when the study is expected to be completed.
From:http://www.mercurynews.com/peninsula/ci_8018506?nclick_check=1
The big deal in stem cell Therapy video on you tube
Stem cell therapy cut liver transplants
LONDON: Imagine needing an urgent liver transplant, but instead of waiting for a donor, you can just repair your own organ.
Yes, scientists have discovered a new way of treating liver failure -- the technique involves inserting stem cells into the damaged organ so that it is encouraged to repair itself and create new tissue, The Daily Telegraph reported on Wednesday.
"We have identified a non-hepatic source of cells that can easily be expanded to the scale required for clinical application," Dr Martin Yarmush, who led the study published in the Public Library of Science journal, was quoted by the daily as saying.
The liver is known to be one of the few major organs able to regenerate itself when parts have been removed. The scientists came to the conclusion after they found they could encourage this natural tendency by inserting stem cells into the damaged livers of rodents. In fact, they used Mesenchymal stem cells found in the bone marrow.
According to the researchers, the treatment will allow patients to live long enough for a new organ to found and could even enable the liver to completely heal itself so a transplant is no longer needed. The demand for new organs is currently so high that many patients die on the waiting list or are taken off because their condition deteriorates to the extent that they would not survive the operation.
original Article from:http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/
stem cell therapy for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis
Stem Cell Therapy Improves Symptoms of Rheumatoid Arthritis
Mesenchymal stem cells are proving to have significant effects on a variety of autoimmune type of problems such as rheumatoid, osteoarthritis, Lupus, colitis, mixed connective tissue disease, scleroderma, etc. Good improvement in osteoarthritis has also been seen with the intravenous administration of primitive hematopoietic stem cells (CD34+CD133+).
In general, the best results are thought to occur with the direct administration of the cells directly into the joint(s) or immediately around the joint. Osteoarthritic joints where there is no longer cartilage have also shown improvement with administration of cord stem cells directly into the joint.
There are a number of advantages to using human umbilical cord stem cells that do not require immune suppression and which can help balance immune function by changing the genetics of the immune reactive cells. Several patients diagnosed with stroke or other conditions who received cord stem cells in Mexico reported that their arthritis pain subsided.
There is also an increased risk of cardiovascular disease in patients with active rheumatoid arthritis which may be in part due to reduced numbers of endothelial progenitor cells circulating in the peripheral blood. Providing cord stem cells to RA patients may help reduce cardiovascular risk as well as reduce joint damage.
In addition to stem cell therapies, the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis requires a comprehensive program that includes detoxification and nutritional therapies. In addition, there are also pulsating magnetic beds available that can stimulate bone remodeling and help to correct structural abnormalities associated with severe osteoarthritis of the spine.
ariginal article: http://www.stemcelltherapies.org/umresearch/arthritis.html
