Tommy, our beloved 8-year-old border collie mix, was diagnosed by MRI with an inoperable tumor on his spinal cord. We had difficulty diagnosing what appeared to be a weak leg, and he began to cry out occasionally as he climbed stairs. We escalated, and our vet referred us to an MRI immediately.

After the diagnosis, the vet specialist said that Tommy was quite stoic because he did not cry out more often, given the location of the tumor. We knew he was not himself, but what we did not know was the level of pain that he lived with that last month of his life.

I question the motivation of these people: How on Earth (in their own words) "during four weeks of screaming in pain" did they not decide that perhaps it was time to let Chuckie go? Who knows what pain he endures now? I was saddened to see that their own motivations have overtaken their empathy for what might be in the best interest of Chuckie.M.J., Manchester, Mo.

Dear Dr. Fox: I was dismayed by the excessive treatment the letter-writer has gotten and is getting for a paraplegic dog. I love animals, have taken good care of my pets and have volunteered and donated to the Missouri Humane Society, so it isn't that I'm anti-animal, but I think what the writer has done for this one dog is too much.

Just think of the hundreds and hundreds of dogs in shelters and the care some of the healthier ones could get if the writer stopped at sensible treatment for that one dog. Actually, that dog is getting better and more extensive care than some children. Enough is enough in trying to help a pet.R.B., Kirkwood, Mo.

Dear M.J. and R.B.: The money that caring people sometimes put out for their beloved animal companions, especially with advances in cancer treatments and stem cell therapies, can be very considerable. Are they being selfish? What then of their love and concern?

Some do choose instead to opt for euthanasia, especially when there is a low chance of recovery, and give a large donation in their animal's name to their local animal shelter or rescue organization.

We cannot compare the quality of medical care and what might be spent on a child in a poor village with a toy poodle in New York City suffering from comparable conditions, nor their chances of recovery. Such situational ethics are confounded by other social and family priorities, availability of services and where there is choice, just how much one feels like spending and can afford in the hope that the loved one will recover. It is a tragedy of the times that here in America, families can be bankrupted by the medical bills of one member under cancer treatment.

Just as we see with people, dogs do vary greatly in their pain tolerance; some are more stoic than others, who may border on hysteria because of fear as well as pain. This is where the experienced clinical eye of the veterinarian is invaluable to determine the best course of treatment and the animal patient's quality of life and chances of total or partial recovery.

Regardless of costs and affordability and the fact that some animal caregivers may seek to extend an animal's life for various personal reasons rather than for the animal's own sake, all involved have a duty to make the animal patient as comfortable as possible and give the animal a chance where there is a strong will to live.

Being nursed at home or setting up in-home palliative care with a visiting veterinarian may be preferable to long-term hospitalization where recovery may be protracted or arrested by separation anxiety and loss of the will to live.

Send all mail to animaldocfox@gmail.com or to Dr. Michael Fox in care of Universal Uclick, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106. The volume of mail received prohibits personal replies, but questions and comments of general interest will be discussed in future columns. Visit Dr. Fox's website at http://www.drfoxvet.net.

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Concerns over paraplegic dog's treatment - INFORUM

Stem cell technology is a new and exciting branch of veterinary medicine. Stem cells are cells that can be safely harvested from a variety of adult animal tissues. Once harvested, the stem cells can be injected and induced to grow into a large number of different cell types.

Stem cell therapy offers the possibility of using these stem cells to grow into replacements for injured or diseased tissues such as bone, cartilage, muscle, nerves, and so on. What makes this such an exciting treatment option is that it allows us to introduce real tissue replacements for damaged tissues, rather than artificial replacement implants. Currently stem cell therapy for dogs is being used with some success to treat bone, joint, and ligament problems.

The technology involves the use of adult stem cells, which can be easily obtained, without any harm to the host animal from which they are taken. A small amount of adipose (fat) tissue is surgically removed from a host animal and a centrifuge is used to separate the stem cells from the fat tissue. The stem cells collected are then injected directly into the injured joint, ligament, or bone where they quickly begin to grow, replacing the damaged tissue with new, healthy tissue.

Stem cell therapy holds immense promise for becoming a viable treatment option for a variety of health issues dog's face.

At Bakerstown Animal Hospital, we believe that providing your canine companion with the highest quality medical care means being on the cutting edge of the latest technologies and procedures. This is reflected in every aspect of our approach to stem cell therapy for dogs. Our facilities feature state-of-the-art equipment, and our veterinary team stays up to date on the latest canine stem cell research available.

The ideal candidate for canine stem cell therapy is a dog in otherwise good health that suffers from arthritis or hip dysplasia, and who doesn't respond well to his or her medication. Or, a dog whose quality of life might further suffer due to invasive surgical procedures. Because canine stem cell therapy uses the patient's own tissues, a canine must be in overall good health in order for any collected stem cells to be effective.

Canine stem cells are collected through removing either fat cells, or various other applicable tissues from a dog's body. Within these tissues and cells exist regenerative cells that are known colloquially as dog stem cells. The regenerative cells that are collected do several things:

The best part is that canine stem cells are not synthetic cells being added to a living, biological organism. Rather, canine stem cells are a dog's own natural healing cells, Because of this, there is much less chance of rejection or adverse interaction, and there are also fewer potential side effects.

Due to the infancy of canine stem cell research and therapies, there is not yet a large body of information about possible adverse side effects. Just like any medical procedure, the risk for adverse side effects from dog stem cell therapy are ever-present. Risks could be associated with the tissue removal procedure, or from a patient's body rejecting the newly placed cells. Other issues with stem cell therapy for dogs include its effectiveness when used alone. This is because the prescription of traditional medication will accompany stem cell therapy procedures.

Deciding whether or not stem cell therapy for dogs is the right choice for your beloved canine companion is a very personal one. No matter what route you choose to take, we are here to help you make the decision that is in the best interest of your dog, and also that fits your budget and lifestyle.

At this time, most stem cell research for dogs currently focuses on treating bone, joint, and ligament problems, rather than treating more advanced illnesses and diseases. We are extremely confident that the day will come when many canine illnesses and diseases can be treated through advances in canine stem cell research.

One thing seems to be clear, stem cell research for dogs promises to revolutionize the veterinary industry, and is already showing good results with canines that have been treated with dog stem cells to repair joints, bones, or ligaments that have been damaged by injury or disease. We are here to help educate you about the latest canine stem cell research advances, and answer any other questions about dog stem cell therapy you might have.

If you would like to discuss how stem cell therapy can benefit your dog, please contact us to schedule an appointment. Our veterinary team can help you decide whether or not canine stem cell therapy is the right option, including discussing cost and prognosis.

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Stem Cell Therapy For Dogs - What you should know

Monkeys with Parkinsons disease symptoms show significant improvement over two years after being transplanted neurons prepared from human induced pluropontent stem cells, scientists at the Center for iPS Cell Research and Application (CiRA), Kyoto University, report. One of the last steps before treating patients with an experimental cell therapy for the brain is confirmation that the therapy works in monkeys.

Parkinsons disease degenerates a specific type of cells in the brain known as dopaminergic (DA) neurons. It has been reported that when symptoms are first detected, a patient will have already lost more than half of his or her DA neurons.

Several studies have shown the transplantation of DA neurons made from fetal cells can mitigate the disease.

The use of fetal tissues is controversial, however. On the other hand, iPS cells can be made from blood or skin.

Our research has shown that DA neurons made from iPS cells are just as good as DA neurons made from fetal midbrain. Because iPS cells are easy to obtain, we can standardize them to only use the best iPS cells for therapy,

said Professor Jun Takahashi, a neurosurgeon specializing in Parkinsons disease, who plans to use DA neurons made from iPS cells to treat patients.

To test the safety and effectiveness of DA neurons made from human iPS cells, Tetsuhiro Kikuchi, a neurosurgeon working in the Takahashi lab, transplanted the cells into the brains of monkeys.

We made DA neurons from different iPS cells lines. Some were made with iPS cells from healthy donors. Others were made from Parkinsons disease patients,

said Kikuchi, who added that the differentiation method used to convert iPS cells into neurons is suitable for clinical trials.

It is generally assumed that the outcome of a cell therapy will depend on the number of transplanted cells that survive, but Kikuchi found this was not the case. More important than the number of cells was the quality of the cells.

Each animal received cells prepared from a different iPS cell donor. We found the quality of donor cells had a large effect on the DA neuron survival, Kikuchi said.

To understand why, he looked for genes that showed different expression levels, finding 11 genes that could mark the quality of the progenitors. One of those genes was Dlk1.

Dlk1 is one of the predictive markers of cell quality for DA neurons made from embryonic stem cells and transplanted into rat. We found Dlk1 in DA neurons transplanted into monkey. We are investigating Dlk1 to evaluate the quality of the cells for clinical applications.

Another feature of the study that is expected to extend to clinical study is the method used to evaluate cell survival in the host brains. The study demonstrated that magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and position electron tomography (PET) are options for evaluating the patient post surgery.

MRI and PET are non-invasive imaging modalities. Following cell transplantation, we must regularly observe the patient. A non-invasive method is preferred,

said Takahashi.

The group is hopeful that it can begin recruiting patients for this iPS cell-based therapy before the end of next year. The study is the teams answer to bring iPS cells to clinical settings, said Takahashi.

Tetsuhiro Kikuchi, Asuka Morizane, Daisuke Doi, Hiroaki Magotani, Hirotaka Onoe, Takuya Hayashi, Hiroshi Mizuma, Sayuki Takara, Ryosuke Takahashi, Haruhisa Inoue, Satoshi Morita, Michio Yamamoto, Keisuke Okita, Masato Nakagawa, Malin Parmar, Jun TakahashiHuman iPS cell-derived dopaminergic neurons function in a primate Parkinsons disease modelNature, 2017; 548 (7669): 592 DOI: 10.1038/nature23664

Image: Annie Cavanagh / Wellcome Images

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iPS Cell-based Neuron Therapy Benefits Monkeys With Parkinson's - ReliaWire

A pair of English bulldog puppies are the first patients to be successfully treated with a unique therapy a combination of surgery and stem cells developed at the University of California, Davis, to help preserve lower-limb function in children with spina bifida.

Because dogs with the birth defect frequently have little control of their hindquarters, they also have little hope for a future. They are typically euthanized as puppies.

At their postsurgery re-check at 4 months old, however, the siblings, named Darla and Spanky, showed off their abilities to walk, run and play to their doctor,veterinary neurosurgeon Beverly Sturges.

The initial results of the surgery are promising, as far as hind limb control, said Sturges. Both dogs seemed to have improved range of motion and control of their limbs.

The dogs have since been adopted, and continue to do well at their home in New Mexico.

Spina bifida occurs when spinal tissue improperly fuses in utero, causing a range of cognitive, mobility, urinary and bowel disabilities in about 1,500 to 2,000 children born in the U.S. each year. The dogs procedure, which involved surgical techniques developed byfetal surgeon Diana Farmerof UC Davis Health together with a cellular treatment developed by stem cell scientistsAijun WangandDori Borjesson, director of the universitysVeterinary Institute for Regenerative Cures, represents a major step toward curing spina bifida for both humans and dogs.

Farmer pioneered the use of surgery prior to birth to improve brain development in children with spina bifida. She later showed that prenatal surgery combined with human placenta-derived mesenchymal stromal cells (PMSCs), held in place with a cellular scaffold, helped research lambs born with the disorder walk without noticeable disability.

Sturges wanted to find out if the surgery-plus-stem-cell approach could give dogs closer-to-normal lives along with better chances of survival and adoption. At 10-weeks old, Darla and Spanky were transported from Southern California Bulldog Rescue to the UC Davis veterinary hospital, where they were the first dogs to receive the treatment, this time using canine instead of human PMSCs.

Another distinction for Darla and Spanky is that their treatment occurred after birth, since prenatal diagnosis of spina bifida is not performed on dogs, Sturges explained. The disorder becomes apparent between 1 and 2 weeks of age, when puppies show hind-end weakness, poor muscle tone, incoordination and abnormal use of their tails.

UC Davis is the only place where this type of cross-disciplinary, transformational medicine could happen, according to Farmer.

Its rare to have a combination of excellent medical and veterinary schools and strong commitment to advancing stem cell science at one institution, she said.

UC Davis is also home to the One Healthinitiative aimed at finding novel treatmentslike thesefor diseases that affect both humans and animals.

Ive often said that I have the greatest job on the planet, because I get to help kids, Farmer said. Now my job is even better, because I get to help puppies too.

With additional evaluation and U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval, Farmer and Wang hope to test the therapy in human clinical trials. Sturges and Borjesson hope to do the same with a canine clinical trial. They hope the outcomes of their work help eradicate spina bifida in dogs and humans.

In the meantime, the team wants dog breeders to send more puppies with spina bifida to UC Davis for treatment and refinements that help the researchers fix an additional hallmark of spina bifida incontinence. While Darla and Spanky are very mobile and doing well on their feet, they still require diapers.

Further analysis of their progress will determine if the surgery improves their incontinence conditions, Sturges said.

Funding for this project was provided by the Veterinary Institute for Regenerative Cures (VIRC) at the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, and the Surgical Bioengineering Lab at the UC Davis School of Medicine. Private donations to the veterinary school for stem cell research also contributed to this procedure. Farmer and Wangs spina bifida research is supported by funding from the National Institutes of Health, the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, Shriners Hospitals for Children and the March of Dimes Foundation.

See the original post here:
Puppies benefit from stem cell treatment for children with spina bifida - University of California

Monkeys show reduced Parkinsonian symptoms following a donor-matched iPS cell-based therapy. Misaki Ouchida, Center for iPS Cell Research and Application, Kyoto University

One of the last steps before treating patients with an experimental cell therapy for the brain is confirmation that the therapy works in monkeys. In its latest study, the Jun Takahashi lab shows monkeys with Parkinson's disease symptoms show significant improvement over two years after being transplanted neurons prepared from human iPS cells. The study, which can be read in Nature, is expected to be a final step before the first iPS cell-based therapy for a neurodegenerative disease.

Parkinson's disease degenerates a specific type of cells in the brain known as dopaminergic (DA) neurons. It has been reported that when symptoms are first detected, a patient will have already lost more than half of his or her DA neurons. Several studies have shown the transplantation of DA neurons made from fetal cells can mitigate the disease. The use of fetal tissues is controversial, however. On the other hand, iPS cells can be made from blood or skin, which is why Professor Takahashi, who is also a neurosurgeon specializing in Parkinson's disease, plans to use DA neurons made from iPS cells to treat patients.

"Our research has shown that DA neurons made from iPS cells are just as good as DA neurons made from fetal midbrain. Because iPS cells are easy to obtain, we can standardize them to only use the best iPS cells for therapy, " he said.

To test the safety and effectiveness of DA neurons made from human iPS cells, Tetsuhiro Kikuchi, a neurosurgeon working in the Takahashi lab, transplanted the cells into the brains of monkeys.

"We made DA neurons from different iPS cells lines. Some were made with iPS cells from healthy donors. Others were made from Parkinson's disease patients," said Kikuchi, who added that the differentiation method used to convert iPS cells into neurons is suitable for clinical trials.

It is generally assumed that the outcome of a cell therapy will depend on the number of transplanted cells that survived, but Kikuchi found this was not the case. More important than the number of cells was the quality of the cells.

"Each animal received cells prepared from a different iPS cell donor. We found the quality of donor cells had a large effect on the DA neuron survival," Kikuchi said.

To understand why, he looked for genes that showed different expression levels, finding 11 genes that could mark the quality of the progenitors. One of those genes was Dlk1.

"Dlk1 is one of the predictive markers of cell quality for DA neurons made from embryonic stem cells and transplanted into rat. We found Dlk1 in DA neurons transplanted into monkey. We are investigating Dlk1 to evaluate the quality of the cells for clinical applications."

Another feature of the study that is expected to extend to clinical study is the method used to evaluate cell survival in the host brains. The study demonstrated that magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and position electron tomography (PET) are options for evaluating the patient post surgery.

"MRI and PET are non-invasive imaging modalities. Following cell transplantation, we must regularly observe the patient. A non-invasive method is preferred," said Takahashi.

The group is hopeful that it can begin recruiting patients for this iPS cell-based therapy before the end of next year. "This study is our answer to bring iPS cells to clinical settings," said Takahashi.

This article has been republished frommaterialsprovided byCIRA, Kyoto University. Note: material may have been edited for length and content. For further information, please contact the cited source.

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Monkeys With Parkinson's Disease Successfully Treated With Human Stem Cell Transplants - Technology Networks

Posted Aug. 30, 2017

The AVMA House of Delegates passed a new policy July 21 on "Therapeutic Use of Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine."

According to the policy: "Regenerative medicine is defined as the use of biological therapies including platelet rich-plasma, pluripotent stem cells, and multipotent stem cells to effect therapeutic benefit in disease states. While regenerative medicine holds promise of improvements in the treatment of a variety of diseases, many of which lack adequately effective treatments, questions remain. The AVMA supports the continued scientific development of these modalities while at the same time encouraging its members to employ caution with respect to their use.

"While data continue to accumulate suggesting therapeutic benefit from regenerative medicine, published peer-reviewed studies definitively documenting benefit are still lacking for many diseases. Nor has a scientific consensus for stem cell type, stem cell origin, dosage, transfer media, or method of administration been developed for each disease being treated. Despite these scientific insufficiencies, the adoption of regenerative medicine in the veterinary profession has grown rapidly. Unfortunately, some therapies being propounded and the processes and equipment being sold have outpaced the science which supports them. Veterinarians have few guidelines and limited resources for differentiating valid and effective therapies from ones which have insufficient data supporting the processes and/or therapies. Therefore, it is incumbent upon veterinarians engaged in regenerative therapies to be well versed in the emerging science of the field in order to successfully select the specific therapeutic protocols, processes, equipment, and vendors most likely to result in clinical benefit for their patients."

The policy lists nine considerations for use of regenerative medicine by veterinarians.

AVMA to deliberate on assistance animals, stem cells (June 1, 2017)

FDA finalizes guidance on cell-based products in animals (July 15, 2015)

Stem cells in theory & practice (Feb. 15, 2011)

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Policy addresses therapeutic use of stem cells, regenerative medicine - American Veterinary Medical Association

Monkeys show reduced Parkinsonian symptoms following a donor-matched iPS cell-based therapy. Credit: Misaki Ouchida, Center for iPS Cell Research and Application, Kyoto University

One of the last steps before treating patients with an experimental cell therapy for the brain is confirmation that the therapy works in monkeys. Today, scientists at the Center for iPS Cell Research and Application (CiRA), Kyoto University, Japan, report monkeys with Parkinson's disease symptoms show significant improvement over two years after being transplanted neurons prepared from human iPS cells. The study, which can be read in Nature, is an expected final step before the first iPS cell-based therapy for neurodegenerative diseases.

Parkinson's disease degenerates a specific type of cells in the brain known as dopaminergic (DA) neurons. It has been reported that when symptoms are first detected, a patient will have already lost more than half of his or her DA neurons. Several studies have shown the transplantation of DA neurons made from fetal cells can mitigate the disease. The use of fetal tissues is controversial, however. On the other hand, iPS cells can be made from blood or skin, which is why Professor Takahashi, who is also a neurosurgeon specializing in Parkinson's disease, plans to use DA neurons made from iPS cells to treat patients.

"Our research has shown that DA neurons made from iPS cells are just as good as DA neurons made from fetal midbrain. Because iPS cells are easy to obtain, we can standardize them to only use the best iPS cells for therapy, " he said.

To test the safety and effectiveness of DA neurons made from human iPS cells, Tetsuhiro Kikuchi, a neurosurgeon working in the Takahashi lab, transplanted the cells into the brains of monkeys.

"We made DA neurons from different iPS cells lines. Some were made with iPS cells from healthy donors. Others were made from Parkinson's disease patients," said Kikuchi, who added that the differentiation method used to convert iPS cells into neurons is suitable for clinical trials.

It is generally assumed that the outcome of a cell therapy will depend on the number of transplanted cells that survive, but Kikuchi found this was not the case. More important than the number of cells was the quality of the cells.

"Each animal received cells prepared from a different iPS cell donor. We found the quality of donor cells had a large effect on the DA neuron survival," Kikuchi said.

To understand why, he looked for genes that showed different expression levels, finding 11 genes that could mark the quality of the progenitors. One of those genes was Dlk1.

"Dlk1 is one of the predictive markers of cell quality for DA neurons made from embryonic stem cells and transplanted into rat. We found Dlk1 in DA neurons transplanted into monkey. We are investigating Dlk1 to evaluate the quality of the cells for clinical applications."

Another feature of the study that is expected to extend to clinical study is the method used to evaluate cell survival in the host brains. The study demonstrated that magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and position electron tomography (PET) are options for evaluating the patient post surgery.

"MRI and PET are non-invasive imaging modalities. Following cell transplantation, we must regularly observe the patient. A non-invasive method is preferred," said Takahashi.

The group is hopeful that it can begin recruiting patients for this iPS cell-based therapy before the end of next year. "This study is our answer to bring iPS cells to clinical settings," said Takahashi.

Explore further: Conversion of brain cells offers hope for Parkinson's patients

More information: Tetsuhiro Kikuchi et al. Human iPS cell-derived dopaminergic neurons function in a primate Parkinson's disease model, Nature (2017). DOI: 10.1038/nature23664

Journal reference: Nature

Provided by: Kyoto University

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Monkeys with Parkinson's disease benefit from human stem cells - Medical Xpress

A procedure combining surgery with stem cell treatment has aided two bulldog puppies with spina bifida and a team of UC Davis researchers hopes to test the therapy in human clinical trials.

The puppies were treated with a therapy developed at UC Davis to help preserve lower-limb function in children with spina bifida, according to a university news release.

Spina bifida occurs when spinal tissue improperly fuses in utero causing cognitive, mobility, urinary and bowel disabilities. Approximately 1,500 to 2,000 children in the United States are born with the condition each year.

Because dogs with the birth defect have little control of their hindquarters, they typically are euthanized as puppies.

After their post-surgery checkup at 4 months old, the sibling pups, Darla and Spanky, showed off their ability to walk, run and play.

The initial results of the surgery are promising, as far as hind limb control, veterinary neurosurgeon Beverly Sturges said in a written statement. Both dogs seemed to have improved range of motion and control of their limbs.

The dogs have since been adopted and continue to do well at home in New Mexico.

The dogs procedure involved surgical techniques developed by fetal surgeon Diana Farmer of UC Davis Health together with a cellular treatment developed by stem cell scientists Aijun Wang and Dori Borjesson, director of the universitys Veterinary Institute for Regenerative Cures.

Farmer pioneered the use of surgery prior to birth to improve brain development in children with spina bifida. She later showed that prenatal surgery combined with cells derived from the human placenta held in place with a cellular scaffold helped research lambs born with the disorder walk without noticeable disability, the news release said.

Sturges wanted to find out whether the surgery-plus-stem-cell approach could give dogs more normal lives, as well as better chances of survival and adoption.

Darla and Spanky were transported from Southern California Bulldog Rescue to the UC Davis Veterinary hospital when they were 10 weeks old. They were the first dogs to receive the treatment, this time using canine instead of human placenta-derived cells.

The dogs treatment also occurred after birth, because the prenatal diagnosis of spina bifida is not performed on dogs, Sturges said. The disorder becomes apparent between 1 and 2 weeks of ages, when puppies show hind-end weakness, poor muscle tone and abnormal use of their tails.

The research team wants dog breeders to send more puppies with spina bifida to UC Davis for treatment and refinements that will help researchers correct another hallmark of spina bifida, incontinence. Although Darla and Spanky are mobile and doing well, they still require diapers, the news release said.

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Puppies receive stem cell treatment developed to help children with spina bifida - Sacramento Bee

Stem Cell and other innovative biologic pet treatments now available medically to broad base of progressive veterinarians.

(PRWEB) August 24, 2017

Veterinary Growth Partners (VGP), a veterinary membership group with over 4,000 independent veterinary hospital members, helps practices accelerate their goals, growth and business success. VGP offers its members numerous benefits including preferred pricing, dedicated practice coaches, robust education for various job roles in the hospital, marketing tools, and some of the most impressive practice management tools in the industry. VGP has selected MediVet Biologics as a preferred vendor to provide its member hospitals access to innovative biologic treatments including advanced Stem Cell and Platelet Rich Plasma therapies for degenerative diseases in animals.

To date, over 12,000 animals have been treated with MediVet Biologics ActiStem stem cell treatment. ActiStem is the only US based animal stem cell treatment to be tested in a university randomized, double blind, placebo controlled trial.

In addition to regenerative medicine, Veterinary Growth Partners clinics will have access to K9-ACV, an immunotherapy vaccine designed to be an affordable option for canine cancer. The two organizations will provide education to the network of progressive veterinarians via innovative labs and learning experiences.

This signifies a continued shifting dynamic in pet healthcare with a focus on personalized and innovative medical treatment options being sought out for pets. Robert Sigman, CEO of VGP said, "Veterinary Growth Partners is excited to partner with MediVet Biologics. We strive to bring the best products and services in our industry to members at significant savings. MediVet's products are best in class. We look forward to working with them for many years to come."

"Pets are family members and their human families demand access to the same innovations and quality of care available in human medicine. We are here in the marketplace to provide our veterinary customers those options. Our partnership with VGP will continue to assist us in driving our mission to assist millions of animals across the globe", said Jeff Baker President of MediVet Biologics.

About MediVet BiologicsMediVet Biologics is a global leader in innovative medical solutions for the animal health market. The company has a portfolio of products and services to include regenerative medicine and immunotherapy for canine cancer. For more information please visit: http://www.medivetbiologics.com

About Veterinary Growth PartnersVeterinary Growth Partners is a membership organization for innovative veterinary practices. We bring you tools, templates, and cost-saving programs to grow your profit. To learn more about VGP, please visit: http://www.vgpvet.com

For the original version on PRWeb visit: http://www.prweb.com/releases/2017/08/prweb14629431.htm

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Veterinary Growth Partners Selects MediVet Biologics as Preferred Vendor for Veterinary Biologics - Benzinga

Deana ReecePublished: August 23, 2017, 7:22 pmUpdated: August 23, 2017, 9:34 pm

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTWO) Maggie Mae and her owner, Robert Howrey, came from Paris, Illinois, for a check-up at the Wabash Valley Animal Hospital in Terre Haute.

She doesnt act like it, but Maggie Mae is a senior citizen and she has problems with her joints.

Arthritis is a common condition in older dogs and we like to help them out, said Dr. Andrew Pickering, a local veterinarian.

A California company called Animal Cell Therapies has enlisted U.S. veterinarians to participate in a study of using stem cells for dogs with arthritis. Some of the canines in the study receive an injection of stem cells, others get just a saline solution.

Pickering doesnt know which injections Maggie Mae is getting, but she no longer limps. Hes encouraged by the results.

Were hoping this particular type of treatment will cure the condition for a long period of time so we dont have to keep giving the dog medication all the time, Pickering said.

Howrey said its almost like having a new dog.

Its been about six weeks, so now shes back doing normal activities, she runs, she chases squirrels.

The research will continue for several more months. The local clinic is looking for owners who would like to involve their pets. Study participation is free for dogs that qualify. Plus, even the animals that receive the saline injections can get the stem cell treatment once the study is complete.

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Terre Haute animal hospital in stem cell study for dogs - WISH-TV