Local news channels have started to pick up on the veterinary stem cell phenomenon. Could generate some interest in getting the same available to humans soon.

Chances are your dog has access to stem cell treatments more advanced than your own. A Fox News affiliate in Atlanta has picked up on a local story of a dog, named Behr, who could barely run a year ago, but who is now frolicking like a puppy. The secret to Behr’s success? He underwent stem cell therapy, effectively reversing the conditions of his hip dysplasia. Regular readers will recognize this therapy as one we discussed more than eight months ago. It is growing more common in veterinarian clinics across the US to treat horses and large dogs with joint problems using stem cells, often with miraculous results. Another local news channel, this one in New York, contacted me about a similar story set to air there. These treatments use the same autologous technique we covered before, the only difference is that now local news channels are picking up on the action. Hopefully that will lead to more people questioning why a medical treatment that has such a remarkable track record in animals has yet to be FDA approved for use in humans. Watch the Channel 5 Fox News segment below to see Behr’s joyful return to playing with his owner.

Behr’s experience was common for the procedure: a local vet removed fat tissue, sent it to a company (Vet Stem) that isolated the stem cells in the fat and sent them back, the vet then injected the stem cells into the dog’s hip and six months later the dog was greatly improved. This stuff really works!

There have been thousands of successful cases just like Behr’s across the US. There’s more than anecdotal evidence, too: researchers at UC Davis, Cornell, Colorado State University, and others have all shown that veterinarian stem cell treatments work well for joint problems in horses. FDA approval is slow, necessarily so, but it is very frustrating to see a dog prance around due to a stem cell treatment, and know that humans with similar conditions are out of luck for now. It’s little wonder then that there is a growing trend of medical tourism, including stem cell therapies. We even know of a few doctors operating in the US who have sidestepped FDA approval to provide joint related stem cell therapies to humans. More on them, later. For now, enjoy watching Behr happily play with his restored hip cartilage and know that stem cell therapies for the rest of us are coming soon.

[screen capture and video credit: MyFox Atlanta]
[Source: Fox News Atlanta, Singularity Hub, UC Davis, NCBI, CSU]