Pets may get relief from degenerative diseases
MediVet South America has introduced a major scientific advancement in animal stem cell regenerative therapy for dogs, cats and horses suffering from osteoarthritis, hip dysplasia, ligament and cartilage injuries, and degenerative diseases.
MediVet South America’s new, drug-free Adipose Stem Cell Procedure Kit allows veterinarians to remove a small sample of fat, separate stem cells from the fat, then activate and inject the cells into the affected area.
This in-clinic treatment is completed the same day, within hours of fat collection, instead of using the old method of shipping samples to an outside laboratory for stem cell extraction and activation, then wait days for the cells to be returned to the vet for injection.
“Now veterinarians can fully perform stem cell therapy in their own practice, achieving up to four times the stem cell count of earlier procedures,” said Geoff Scott of MediVet South America.
“It’s also a great opportunity to grow a practice while doing what many veterinarians signed on for – to help animals lead longer, better lives.”
Virus could cause cat cancer
A New Zealand researcher is a step closer to developing a vaccine for a common form of skin cancer in cats.
Dr John Munday, a veterinary pathologist at the Institute of Veterinary, Animal and Biomedical Sciences at Massey University, is researching a possible link between papillomaviruses and cancer in cats.
Papillomaviruses are thought to cause around 5% of cancers in people, including cervical cancer in women and a proportion of cancers of the mouth. In people, vaccines have recently been introduced to prevent papillomaviral infection and reduce the rate of cancer development.
“We’re looking at a skin cancer that is common in cats, called squamous cell carcinoma,” Dr Munday says.
“It is the most common skin cancer in cats, and is a frequent reason that a cat may be put down.”
Dr Munday is undertaking a survey to see if a link exists between squamous cell carcinomas in cats and papillomavirus infection, and research carried out so far has been promising.
“At this stage we have established that a papillomavirus is significantly associated with cancer, the next step is to definitively prove this papillomavirus causes the cancer,” Dr Munday says.
If a causal link is proven, the development of a vaccine to protect against papillomavirus infection should be able to reduce the development of this common, often fatal, cancer of cats.
