DogStem: A New Stem Cell Treatment for Dogs with Arthritis
Osteoarthritis (also referred to as OA or degenerative joint disease) is a common pain-causing condition of synovial joints, most frequently associated with the loss and dysfunction of cartilage. It is often quoted that 20% of the canine population aged over 1 year have some degree of OA. Arthritis in dogs is considered to have a largely genetic cause, which is exacerbated through aspects of lifestyle that affect body condition, such as diet and exercise. The presentation of arthritis in dogs is variable, and pain may be intermittent. This blog considers the different treatment options, including DogStem in dogs with arthritis.
Management of arthritis in dogs
Management of OA may include lifestyle measures (e.g. non-slip flooring), physical therapy (e.g. massage, stretching), weight loss, exercise modification, food supplements (e.g. omega-3 fatty acids) and drug therapy, including non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and/or analgesics (e.g. bedinvetmab, grapiprant, paracetamol). Another option is stem cell treatment, including DogStem.
Management of arthritis in dogs is a lifetime commitment aimed at reducing pain and improving mobility and quality of life.
For any intervention used to treat arthritis in dogs, including stem cell treatment, it is important to have clear goals and outcome measures for monitoring the effects. A key aspect is to ask owners to record how their dogs seem on treatment (e.g. the dog’s demeanour, or how easily it walks up steps). There are validated tools available to do this, such as the Canine Brief Pain Inventory.
Medicines for managing arthritis in dogs
There are now several options for managing arthritis in dogs:
Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). There is a large choice of NSAIDs licensed by the VMD for use in dogs to choose from: carprofen, cimicoxib, enflicoxib, firocoxib, mavacoxib, meloxicam, tiaprofenic acid, robenacoxib. These have analgesic and anti-inflammatory effects.
Grapiprant (brand name Galliprant), a prostanoid receptor antagonist (known as a pripant), which has analgesic effects.
Pentosan polysulfate (brand names Cartophen Vet and Osteopen), which has been suggested to act as a disease modifying drug in osteoarthritis
Bendivetmab (brand name Librela), a nerve-growth factor inhibitor, which has analgesic effects.
Paracetamol, an analgesic.
DogStem is a relatively new option, offering stem cell therapy in the form of an authorised veterinary medicine.
Where does stem cell treatment, including DogStem, fit?
Cell therapies for dogs with OA are a fairly recent innovation. One option has been mesenchymal stem-cell therapy via specialist companies that can process an adipose tissue sample to culture and multiply mesenchymal stem cells for implantation in the dog (autologous or self-therapy); this is an unlicensed stem cell treatment for dogs’ arthritis. Another is autologous platelet-rich plasma, an unregulated procedure. More recently, DogStem, a licensed medicinal form of stem cell therapy for dogs has become available for prescription by vets in Great Britain and the EU. This is a new stem cell treatment for dog arthritis.
What is DogStem?
DogStem is a standardised preparation of mesenchymal stem cells that is authorised as a veterinary medicine. The stem cells in DogStem are actually derived from equine umbilical stem cells.
Making treatment decisions about dogs with arthritis
There are several different options for the treatment of dogs with arthritis. Some have been available for a long time and several are relatively new. When new treatments come onto the market, the companies marketing the products obviously want to highlight what they consider to be the benefits of their products. They will not want to draw attention to any disadvantages or uncertainties. And they are not usually keen to compare their products with alternatives. This means that vets making treatment decisions need to find information that will help them choose between the different options, including on DogStem.
How Veterinary Prescriber can help
Veterinary Prescriber provides evidence-based, practical and clearly-written information to help vets make treatment choices, saving them the time and effort it takes to rigorously assess and compare the evidence and information on medical treatments. We are proud to be wholly independent, which means that the information we provide is impartial and not influenced by commercial interests.
We search for all the relevant published evidence on efficacy and safety, which we critically appraise. We also scrutinise promotional claims to see if they are justified and assess practical aspects of using treatments; a key part of this evaluation involves asking vets in practice for their experience and opinions.
We have been helping vets since 2012. On osteoarthritis treatments for dogs, we’ve compared the available NSAIDs; evaluated the new NSAID eflicoxib (Daxocox) and the new drugs grapiprant (Galliprant) and bedinvetmab (Librela); reviewed pentosan polysulphate products and the human-authorised medicines amantadine, gabapentin and pregabalin; and assessed unlicensed options including platelet-rich plasma and stem cell treatment, CBD, and green-lipped mussel supplements. Our review of DogStem is an objective and critical examination of the evidence. It highlights any uncertainties and scrutinises the promotional claims.
Our reviews are presented as multi-media modules (which you can read and/or listen to) in The Virtual Veterinary Medicines Academy. We cover all medicines-related topics, not just medicines used to treat arthritis in dogs. We also offer unique product guides, medicines resources and Medicines Certificates. Access is through subscription - this is how we are able to produce information that is completely objective. You can find further details on The Academy’s practice subscriptions here. Or, for more information about us, including how we research and produce our content, or to meet the Veterinary Prescriber team, please see our about us page.