Stem cells give pets a second life

The stem cell treatment does not fix the bone structure, but it helps in other ways. Photo / Alan Gibson

A newly developed stem cell injection has an ageing, arthritic German shepherd chasing cats again.

Kimba's owners were ready to end the life of their beloved family pet, who was writhing in constant pain and barely able to hobble, when a Tauranga veterinary clinic introduced the treatment late last year.

Doctors took a sample of 9-year-old Kimba's fat, isolated stem cells from it and injected an activated concentrate around his ground-down joints.

Eight days later, he ran after his first cat in two years - in human years, it was like winding back the clock more than a decade.

The technology was released last year and brought to New Zealand by Stemvet New Zealand, which is helping to set up laboratories throughout the country.

Researchers admit they are yet to pin down all the mechanisms by which stem cells help the healing process, but studies show promise in treating ageing dogs, cats and horses.

"I was going to put him down. He was just so miserable, and we thought we can't let him go on any longer," said Kimba's owner, Maureen Keenan.

"It was pretty hard. We love him so much and we had to see him suffering ... He's a part of our family."

The dog would be dead today if his condition had failed to improve.

"We're so thrilled just seeing him," Ms Keenan said.

Barkes Corner Veterinary Hospital owner Scott Raleigh said Kimba's hip joints had been worn down to look like dinner plates.

"It's barely even a hip joint," Mr Raleigh said.

The stem cell treatment would not fix the bone structure, but it helped in many other ways, Mr Raleigh said, including easing the pain and possibly restoring some cartilage.

Stemvet NZ co-owner Gil Sinclair said stem cells were "healing cells".

They were undifferentiated, meaning they could become part of a blood vessel or many other tissues as necessary to repair damage, and were found throughout the body.

Controversy has followed research on stem cells taken from embryos, particularly when human eggs are fertilised to harvest such cells.

Adult stem cells - which Stemvet uses - cannot grow into a fullorganism.

Kimba's stem cells were taken from up to 40g of fat behind his shoulder and put back in his body.

Mr Raleigh said his Tauranga clinic has treated seven dogs and three horses using stem cells, with notable successes. The charge for a treatment is about $2500.

Procedure

Extract stem cells from fat using a centrifuge and a digestion process.

Extract platelets from blood.

Mix stem cells, platelets under specific wavelengths of light for 20 minutes.

Inject activated stem cells into affected areas and intravenously.

Effects

The body turns stem cells into specialised cells, which can become part of a blood vessel or other tissue as necessary to repair damage.

Improves healing rate and eases pain.

Other effects that are still unknown, including possibly repairing cartilage.