Stem Cell Therapy for Lame Horse

Scientists at the University of Guelph (Ontario, Canada) are testing a regenerative medicine procedure, using stem cells, to treat lame horses. Dr. Dean Betts and his research group at the Ontario Veterinary College recently published a report in BMC Biotechnology and Expert Opinion on Biological Therapy describing their newly developed method of isolating and differentiating stem cells from bone marrow for the treatment of horses with ligament and tendon damage. Although they describe their technology as "cutting edge", they aren't the first or only veterinary facility to offer this service.

Stem cell technology is being used by Vet-Stem, of Poway, California, which uses stem cells derived from adipose (fat) tissue to treat dogs and horses. Both the UG and Vet-Stem groups are reportedly hopeful that their research can someday be applied to humans.

While the Vet-Stem procedure has been repeatedly sucessful at treating dogs with joint and tissue problems, don't get Lassie too excited yet! While it might be a reasonable expense for a champion racehorse with a sprained knee, the steep cost ($2000-2500 USD) of treatment renders it out of reach of your average American family pooch.

_{Source: University of Guelph Press Release Feb. 20, 2008.}