A bowed tendon used to mean the end of a racehorse’s career. Now, as The Scientist magazine reports, the injury can be recovered with a novel stem cell treatment derived from the horse’s own cells.

Greg’s Gold earned over $1,000,000 during his career despite suffering a “career ending” bowed
tendon in 2005. He was able to recover and continue racing thanks to the stem cell treatment at Vet-Stem.

“The ligaments were just shredded,” says the horse’s trainer, David Hofmans. Veterinarian
Wade Byrd extracted a pad of adipose tissue from under the horse’s tail and sent it overnight to
Vet-Stem. There, the stem cells were isolated from the tissue and returned in a refrigerated
container in less than 48 hours. Byrd injected the cells at the site of the shredded ligaments and
ten months later Greg’s Gold won his first top-tier stakes race since the injury. Since his recovery, Greg’s Gold won several more races and placed in others.

Hofmans says he would recommend the treatment for other horses: “Absolutely, I think it’s the only treatment for this kind of injury.”

Contrary to expectations, the stem cells seem to calm the inflammatory reaction and then organize for the self-repair of the damaged tissue.

Vet-Stem, founded in 2002, has treated almost 3,000 horses according to CEO Bob Harmon. He
says every horse they have treated has had a favorable outcome. Vet-stem has recently expanded
its treatment to dogs, conducting a double-blind study of dogs with chronic osteoarthritis. Owners of three of the dogs in the study were considering euthanasia before the
dogs were treated, and those three dogs have improved. Vet-Stem is also in the process of
setting up a study for dogs with chronic inflammatory liver disease.
Source: June 2008 Issue of The Scientist

While I laud their research on chronic Osteoarthritis in dogs, personally I would much prefer that they focus on treating humans first. However I do not blame them. Treating animals is much simpler than treating human beings in terms of FDA regulations and all in USA. Vet-Stem’s treatment expands the horizons for stem cell research and cure.