Just before 10 a.m. Tuesday, Jake — a hobbling, 12-year-old yellow Labrador retriever — went into surgery at the Stanley Veterinary Clinic in Overland Park with crippling arthritis, no longer able to run without pain or even walk down stairs.
He had already been on months of medications that seemed to turn the normally happy dog sad. And hip and joint replacements costing tens of thousands of dollars were not feasible, said owners Mike and Elizabeth LeBlanc of Leawood.Still, their 8-year-old daughter, Mia, had just one request at Christmas. “All I want is for Jake to feel better,” she wrote.So, on Tuesday morning, Jake became one of the first canines in the Kansas City area to undergo a somewhat new and controversial procedure in which stem cells were harvested from the fat of his own body and then injected into his joints. The expectation is that within a few weeks the cells will regenerate missing cartilage and turn his arthritic joints healthy again.“It’s amazing,” said veterinarian Les E. Pelfrey, who conducted the procedure. “A few weeks later, these guys are running up and down.”The stem-cell procedure, which has gained notice in recent years with anecdotal stories of success on YouTube and cable television, remains controversial not only for its quick adoption in veterinary clinics nationwide, but also because some researchers say it remains scientifically unproven and expensive, at $1,800 or more per treatment.“Let me tell you one thing,” said James L. Cook, a professor of orthopedics at the University of Missouri’s College of Veterinary Medicine. “I don’t want to write off stem cells. Stem cells may hold the key for truly restorative medicine.”In horses, stems cells have been shown to help rejuvenate damaged tendons and other problems. They are being tested for cardiac problems.“But in the joints for dogs with arthritis? No way,” Cook said. “I would never recommend anyone get this done.”Stem cells essentially are the equivalent of young and impressionable cells whose genetic gears have yet to determine their fate. Because they are so young, they theoretically can turn into any kind of cell, from cartilage to neurons. In humans, stem cells have long been held out as possible therapy for diseases such as Parkinson’s.The problem, Cook said, is that although a few studies have shown that the injection of stem cells into arthritic canine joints does reduce pain, compared with “control” dogs not injected with stems cells, no studies have convincingly shown that stems cells are any better at helping dogs than the current, and less expensive, standard of care. That typically involves a combination of weight loss, pain medications and, when necessary, injections of hyaluronic acid, a slippery substance that often goes missing in arthritis. Those injections, given a couple of times a year, cost less than $100 each.Moreover, even if the stem cells work, no one knows at this point how long the improvement will persist, although some vets have noted benefits lasting a year or more.“We know for sure that it (stem cell injections) does have some palliative effects. It can make symptoms better,” Cook said. “And we do know for sure that it does not regenerate cartilage in arthritic joints. The palliative effects are not as good, or no better, than hyaluronic acid injections.”That is far from the case being made by companies now promoting stem-cell therapy in dogs, or owners who believe in it.A number of stem-cell companies have emerged in recent years. Chief among them are Vet-Stem, based in Poway, Calif., and MediVet America, a division of MediVet, based in Sydney, Australia, which notes that it is currently conducting studies on canines, stem cells and cartilage regeneration.Both use largely similar technologies and methods. At the vet’s office, the dog undergoes a quick procedure in which a bolus of fat about the size of a golf ball is taken from above the shoulder.The fat is processed and treated with chemicals to extract millions of stem cells. Some of those cells are then injected into a dog’s damaged joints; the rest enter the body through an intravenous line into the bloodstream.One prime difference between the Vet-Stem and MediVet systems is that Vet-Stem costs about $3,000 or more.Vet-Stem requires the veterinarian to ship the fat sample to California, where it is processed and sent back for injection. Several dogs in the Kansas City area have been injected with stem cells from Vet-Stem.The MediVet system costs pet owners about $1,800. It provides veterinarians with a kit to process the stem cells in their own offices over about four hours. Dogs are injected with stems cells on the same day the fat is removed. The pet typically goes home the next day.In Topeka, the University Bird and Small Animal Clinic has used the MediVet kit and system with what it says are positive results on about 40 dogs since November 2010. A veterinarian there, Larry Snyder, helped train Pelfrey in Overland Park.Snyder came to the clinic two weeks ago to perform the procedure on another hobbled yellow Labrador retriever, Milo, owned by dentist Jon Finley and his wife, Sharon, in Leawood.“Dr. Pelfrey and Mrs. Finley didn’t tell me how much this procedure was going to cost,” Jon Finley said, “and I’d rather you not tell me. No matter what, he’s walking better, standing upright, feeling better. I can’t help but think he’s going to get better and better.”Jake’s owner said that, whatever the outcome, she knows that the procedure is not a cure.“I’m hoping this gives him a better quality of life,” Elizabeth LeBlanc said. “I got him when he was just 6 weeks old. He was such a blessing. It will be worth it, even if I can give him one more great summer.”
To reach Eric Adler, call 816-234-4431 or send email to eadler@kcstar.com.
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First local dogs receive ‘amazing’ stem-cell therapy