updated 11:01 a.m. ET, Mon., Aug 10, 2009
MIAMI - Five-year-old Lucy the Labradoodle's back limbs have been rendered unusable by rheumatoid arthritis, and she must scoot along the ground with her front paws to grab a bone. Her owners believe that a costly stem-cell treatment is the reason she's even lived as long as she has.
In fact, they say, she seems to be improving. She no longer yelps or whimpers in pain, and she needs far less medicine than before. Lucy's owners credit the stem cell treatment, despite what experts say is a lack of evidence such treatments work.
"We didn't think she'd live anywhere near this long, and I know it's because of the stem cells," says owner Carol Fischman, 57, of Vero Beach.
Thousands of dogs and horses with degenerative arthritis have had stem cell treatments, costing around $2,500 to $3,000 per procedure. There are no independent studies verifying their effectiveness, and some experts say such studies are needed to assess their potential.
University of Florida veterinarian Kristin Kirkby, who performed Lucy's procedure, said that the outcomes on five similar treatments have all been positive. But that's from owner-reported results, not scientific scrutiny.
Owners tell her their dogs have an easier time getting around the house and getting into position to urinate. Mostly, they just report their dogs appear to be more comfortable overall.
To get hard results, Kirkby says the university plans to start taking a pain inventory of each animal at the beginning of the process, followed by an evaluation and checkups afterward to measure changes.
"I think it's an exciting field. Undoubtedly the future of scientific research is going this way," Kirkby said. "It's early on, especially in the small animal side, to know what the results can be."
Vet-Stem, a Poway, Calif.-based company, is developing the stem cell therapy and began treating horses in 2003. It derives stem cells from fat samples taken from dogs and horses across the country.
The procedure has been used mainly to treat osteoarthritis, which involves loss of cartilage in the joints, but Vet-Stem is researching treatments for other diseases. Vet-Stem claims the therapy enables animals to replace cartilage and other tissue.
Glucosamine and Chondroiton can be used to treat osteoarthritis in dogs, and is much less expensive.
Since 2003, the privately held company has treated 3,500 horses and 1,500 dogs and plans to begin treating cats later this year. More than 1,500 vets are licensed to use the procedure.
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