Nearly 11 years ago, John and Cheryl Pastore were about to begin cleaning a pond at Jacksonville’s Raines High School as part of their family business when they came across a horrific sight.
Chained to a fence in field near the pond was a dirty, hungry mother chow barely able to nurse the three malnourished pups under its belly. The Pastores, animal owners and veterans of pet rescues, rushed the dogs to their veterinarian in Middleburg. He and the couple nursed them back to health and the dogs became part of the Pastore family.
Wednesday morning the Pastores and veterinarian Craig Price joined forces again to prolong the lives of the trio through a cutting-edge treatment designed to help animals suffering from arthritis and other crippling degenerative joint diseases.
The treatment is known as veterinary stem cell therapy, in which the animal’s stem cells — simply known as the body’s repair cells — are extracted from the animal’s processed fatty tissue and injected into ailing joints in an effort to rebuild cartilage, bone and muscle.
The therapy, now being tested on the First Coast, also is designed to reduce inflammation.
“We’re basically trying to get them to the point where they can function day to day and not be in a lot of pain or discomfort,” Price said. “I think there’s a lot of potential there.”
Though offering no guarantees or scientific proof of success, veterinarians across the country have touted the $2,000 procedure for helping to ease or eliminate pain and improving the mobility of mostly older animals. Improvements through the regeneration of bone and tissues are usually seen in 30 to 60 days in successful cases.
The Pastores said anything would be better than to watch their beloved chows keep regressing from hip problems they’ve had since they were young.
“They are like our kids and we’d do anything for them,” said John Pastore, 48. “I don’t want them to suffer another day.”
The procedure has been in use for about 10 years and has been promoted by at least two companies — Vet-Stem and MediVet America.
Advances in technology have made it possible more recently to do the processing in veterinary clinics rather than outside laboratories, which allows vets like Price to perform the whole process in one day.
Price said he first heard about the procedure at a conference and received support and training from MediVet America. About 2,000 animals, from horses to dogs, have been treated with the therapy offered by the company operating from Kentucky since 2010, said Thomas Masterson, vice president of sales.
Some animals may only need one treatment, while others may need repeat treatment from its stem cells, which are banked by the company.
Kenneth O’Hanlon, an Oklahoma veterinarian, said the three dogs he’s treated with the therapy have all shown improvement.
“I’ve been impressed with the response to it and how well it’s held up,” O’Hanlon said.
Keith Niesenbaum, a veterinarian in New York, said he’s seen improvement in three of six dogs that have received the treatment. He plans to keep providing the service, which he said is safe.
“It’s one more thing to try where nothing else is working,” Niesenbaum said. “Some have returned to more normal activity, with increased function and decreased pain.”
Price became the first veterinarian to perform the procedure in Northeast Florida when he went to work Wednesday on the Pastores’ 80-pound female chow Cookie, who has been receiving regular injections of anti-inflammatory medicine and other treatment.
Cookie arrived at Price’s clinic Wednesday showing a noticeable limp at some points. She was also unable to climb into the Pastores’ van.
Cookie was sedated before Price performed a surgical slice on her shoulder and filled a small jar with fat removed from her shoulder during 30 minutes of surgery. The fat and blood, taken earlier, were then mixed in a machine as part of a filtering and spinning process in which the stem cells were removed from the fat. The cells were injected into the dog’s hips and knees later in the afternoon before being kept overnight.
The Pastores said their ongoing expense for monthly treatments alone makes the effort worth a try. But they said it’s not about the money.
“They’re so loving, so beautiful,” Pastore said of his dogs.
The Pastores plan to bring Cookie’s siblings, Genral and Sushi Girl, to Price next week. Cheryl Pastore said she didn’t think twice about being able to give her dogs a chance at getting better.
“They’re our lives,” she said.
Read more at Jacksonville.com: http://jacksonville.com/community/clay/2012-04-12/story/stem-cell-procedure-used-dogs-chow-cookies-first-middleburg#ixzz1roFbyKJy ........................ Cheers Vin
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