Chennai:
Veterinarians in Chennai have claimed a breakthrough in autologous stem cell-based therapy for animals by treating a nine-month-old dog which had a spinal cord injury.
This was the first time in the country that autologous (patient derived) stem cell therapy has been used for management of a dog's spinal cord injury, Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (TANUVAS)orthopedic and neuro surgeon S Iyappan said on Tuesday.
"The present case highlights an encouraging response to autologous stem cell-based therapy combined with decompressive hemilaminectomy for management of a clinical case of grade 4 spinal cord injury of a dog for the first time in India," Iyappan, who was part of the team that conducted the surgery on the Boxer, claimed.
The dog was brought to the Madras Veterinary College Teaching Hospital, TANUVAS, with a spinal cord injury in a road accident and subsequent paraplegia (paralysis of lower half of the body).
It was treated with its own adult stem cells harvested from bone marrow. Forty million bone marrow mononuclear stem cells (BMMNSCs) were separated and 20 million stem cells embedded in thermo responsive gelatin polymer hydrogel at the
Nichi-Centre for Regenerative Medicine (NCRM).
The dog recently underwent decompressive left hemilaminectomy under general anesthesia after which a durotomy (opening covering of the spinal cord) was performed, Iyappan said.
"The BMMNSCs embedded gel was engrafted over the durotomy site and the surgical procedure was completed as per routine protocol," he said, adding a periodic neurological evaluation was performed from the first post-operative week.