Study finds fat stem cells effective in treating pets’ elbow arthritis

SAN DIEGO, Calif. – December 9, 2008 –Vet-Stem, the San Diego-based company using fat-derived stem cell therapy in veterinary medicine, recently completed its second study with positive findings. The multi-center clinical trial, published in Veterinary Therapeutics Fall 2008, revealed that dogs treated with stem cell therapy showed statistically significant improvement in lameness, pain and range of motion for elbow injuries.

“This study reinforces the importance of our work--we are making tomorrow’s medicine a reality today,” says Vet-Stem CEO Robert Harman. “We have seen over a thousand dogs benefit from the Vet-Stem regenerative cell therapy, and we are elated the results of this scientific study confirm such success.”

Vet-Stem regenerative cell therapy has been used on horses since 2002 and launched for dogs in early 2008. Since then, more than a thousand veterinarians have completed the online credentialing course allowing them to use the stem cell therapy on more than 1,000 dogs across the nation.

“We’ve seen stem cell therapy save dogs whose only other option was euthanasia,” said Dr. Harman. “We are helping patients forgo surgery and pharmaceuticals for problems like arthritis and joint and tendon injuries.”

The procedure is simple. Veterinarians remove a small sample of fat from the dog and send it to Vet-Stem. Laboratory technicians isolate regenerative stem cells that already exist in the fat, the high number of stem cells available eliminates the need to grow in culture or manipulate the cells. The cells are then returned to the authorized veterinarian for treatment of the injured animal within 48 hours.

The results from this study expand on one published in 2007, which explored the effectiveness of Vet-Stem’s therapy for hip related osteoarthritis. The outcome showed that stem cells do improve healing in injured or arthritic dogs’ hips. The findings stated that in a blinded, placebo controlled, clinical trial 80 percent of dogs improved significantly after being treated by stem cell therapy.

The most recent study is only the beginning for the future of fat-derived stem cell therapy. Vet-Stem is currently conducting studies for the use of stem cells for internal medicine conditions as well.
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About Vet-Stem, Inc.

Vet-Stem, Inc. was formed in 2002 to bring regenerative medicine to the veterinary profession. In January of 2004, Vet-Stem introduced the first veterinary stem cell service in the United States. The privately held company is working to develop therapies in veterinary medicine that apply regenerative technologies while utilizing the natural healing properties inherent in all animals.

For more information log on to www.vet-stem.com or call 888-387-8361. Interested media should contact Jamie Ortiz, Bailey Gardiner, at 619-295-8232 x 106.

Vet-Stem
12860 Danielson Court, Suite B, Poway, CA 92064
phone: 888-387-8361
Press Contact: Jamie Ortiz, (619)295-8232

This release was published on openPR.