Stem Cell for Pets Inflammatory Bowel Disease (Piper part 2)

Piper Part 2 (Happy Ending): See the miracle of stem cell therapy Part 1 here:

Bulldog Rescue Severe IBD Case Turning Point

Mel (So. Cal Bulldog Rescue) : Do you remember what the turning point was when the stem cell therapy option finally came to the forefront? Mesenchymal normal vs. abnormal

Dr. Kraemer: By now, over a year went by, and the rescue had already invested large sums in countless diagnostic tests, second and third opinions, multiple immune suppressant drugs with high risks of unintended serious side effects, various supplements, and specialty hypoallergenic diets, only to see Piper wasting away to a critical state. The rescuers and Viki, who mothered her through it all with dedication, were devastated and desperate.

 

We had discussed stem cell therapy in the past, and both Viki and SCBR were prepared to take the leap of faith. I explained that it would be experimental, but at this point, we had nothing to lose. We used regenerative therapy successfully on many patients with arthritis and orthopedic problems but never for immune-mediated diseases.

WHAT IS BULLDOG IBD?

Mel (SCBR): So what made you think that stem cell therapy would succeed where traditional and holistic medicine failed?

First, I should explain that inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is an autoimmune disease. For the purpose of this interview, I am going to simplify the disease process with a simple illustration. Think of our cells as “self.”, Each one of us is born with a personal cellular marking coded by receptors unique to us and us alone. Think of those receptors as a “lock” and our immune system as the “key”. If the key and the lock are not a perfect match, our immune system would consider that cell “foreign” and attack it.

Piper’s GI tract receptors (i.e., “locks”) were altered for an unknown reason; as a result, her immune system viewed those cells as “enemies” and responded by going into attack mode, inflicting cellular damage and resulting in the disease’s known severe inflammatory state.

It’s easy to understand why, traditionally, we treat autoimmune disease with immune suppressant drugs, though, as you can imagine, even when we succeed, this approach possesses a possible harmful adverse effect as well as possible lifelong therapy. In contrast, adult stem cells, which we all store in our body (bone marrow, blood, and fat), are our own natural repair cells.

They are typically used by all of us as we grow older (wear and tear) or when we get injured to replace damaged cells and fight inflammation.

There is a large volume of research showing stem cell therapy to be effective in treating immune-mediated and inflammatory-induced diseases like IBD and KCS in bulldogs as well as polyarthritis and degenerative myelopathy.

HOW DOES STEM CELL HELPS BULLDOG IBD?

Mel (SCBR): That is so interesting. I know about the controversy surrounding embryonic stem cell therapy. But I have not heard about regenerative medicine as it applies to “adult cells”. I can now see why you thought they would benefit Piper and her IBD condition.

Dr. Kraemer: Stem cell therapy has been demonstrated to induce profound healing activity. Besides healing damaged tissues and promoting the regeneration of damaged areas, stem cells have the unique ability to modulate the immune system while preserving disease-fighting capabilities.

They produce anti-inflammatory agents to protect the dog from immunological self-attacks (as in Piper’s inflammatory bowel disease).  Piper was truly a fighter. She had everything going against her, and despite that, she had made it this far. I contacted MediVet America and told them about Piper’s dire situation, and they offered to donate a free small stem cell kit. It was the first time I attempted to treat inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in a bulldog or any pet, for that matter.

 

Mel (SCBR): What happened after Piper received her stem cell therapy treatment?

Dr. Kraemer: We gave the entire 2 cc stem cell yield intravenously to Piper. Within 2 weeks, Piper transformed from an emaciated 23lb to a 35lb (that’s about 50% weight gain in only two weeks), with the diarrhea firming to soft pudding

Mel (SCBR): Did she continue to improve?

Dr. Kraemer: we were so overwhelmed by the dramatic improvement after the ineffective nine months of expensive, harsh medicine with no improvements. We decided to order a second kit, and this time we Cryobank’d an additional treatment I gave again 60 days later.

HOW MANY STEM CELL TREATMENT NEEDED FOR IBD

Mel (SCBR): Were those new stem cell treatments as helpful as the first one?

Dr. Kraemer: To make a long story short, she rapidly continued to improve, gaining weight, and the stool got firmer. We took her off all the medications and special diets and kept monitoring her progress. Month by month, year after year, Piper continues to gain weight and improve.

For the last few years, her weight has been maintained at a healthy 55 lbs. Her stool is normal, she is eating regular dog food, and she has never had to go on medication again. She looks like any other healthy bulldog.

BULLDOG IBD TREATMENT FINAL NOTE:

Piper just came to visit me the other day at our new state-of-the-art hospital  It has been over four years since the last stem cell treatment. She is now a senior bulldog and is still living with Viki, one of our senior SCBR founders, who was her foster mom from day 1.  She is still considered by all of us to be a true miracle and a testament to the healing power and potential of regenerative medicine (stem cell therapy).

 

In closing, I can’t say enough about SCBR, the dedicated volunteers, and their amazing rescued bulldogs.

If you were inspired by this story and would like to help our non for profit bulldog rescue you can pledge here.  Or call SCBR and find out what can you do to help

Welcome To Our “Prevention Over RX Bulldog” Community

*This guide was compiled courtesy of Dr. Kraemer and is a “must-read” manual for any current or future bully owner