Hospital for Large Animals Regenerative Therapy

The Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine offers a wide range of regenerative therapies for its equine patients. Stem cells derived either from fatty (adipose) tissue or bone marrow, as well as platelet-rich plasma (PRP) are some new tools in our state-of-the-art array of treatment modalities.

Adipose-derived stem cell therapy, offered through Vet-Stem, utilizes stem cells harvested from adipose, or fat, cells. Marrow-derived stem cell therapy, offered through VetCell, utilizes stem cells harvested and expanded in culture from bone marrow. Stem cells are naturally occurring cells in the body that can transform into any cell type—bone, tendon and ligament for example—to stimulate healing and regeneration of healthy tissue. Stem cells are being used in the equine industry to treat a number of challenging injuries. Clinical studies evaluating stem cell therapy reveal positive results in the treatment of tendon/ligament injuries, osteochondritis dissecans (OCD) and cyst-like lesions, as well as fractures. Stem cells are harvested from each equine patient's own tissue, thus minimizing the risk of negative side effects typically associated with non-autologous products.

PRP therapy consists of using a high concentration of platelets from the horse's own blood (autologous) in a small volume of plasma. Platelets serve a multitude of functions, such as a sealing wound and vascular tissue, providing a scaffold for tissue generation, promoting stem cell binding and offering a high concentration of growth factors such as PDGF, TGF-β, and VEGF. These growth factors play a pivotal role in the repair of important soft tissue structures, such as tendons and ligaments, as well as cyst-like lesions. The harvesting of PRP is quite straightforward—requiring only a small volume of blood and about 15 minutes for processing. It can be used alone or in combination with stem cell therapy. Since PRP is extracted from the patient's own blood, like our stem cell therapy approach, there is virtually no risk of adverse side effects or inflammatory reactions.

Regardless of which therapy is chosen, individual recovery and rehabilitation depends on your animal's individual needs and will be discussed on a case-by-case basis.

Please contact the Hospital for Large Animals to make an appointment.