I have had the opportunity to work with assistance animals and care for family pets for the past 23 years. Approximately 40 percent of my patients suffer from the pain of arthritis. Osteoarthritis (OA) is a condition that is caused by the degeneration of cartilage, causing bone-to-bone contact around affected joints, which makes it difficult and very painful for the dog to move around. The older an animal gets, the more likely they will develop this condition OA. I have noted in my practice that approximately 80 percent of dogs over eight years of age suffer from some degree of Osteoarthritis (OA). This condition is very limiting to the assistance animal that has a special job to do. OA is very painful for the handler and pet owner to see their faithful companion suffering in pain.
The technique of Animal Stem Cell Therapy, is a Regenerative Medicine technique using stem cells harvested from an animal, isolated, then injected directly into the troubled arthritic joints. It can be used to treat osteoarthritis, tendonitis, and injuries in both the working dog and our companion friends. Kindred-Canines In Motion (KIM) offers stem cell technologies using 3 approved therapies.
The first is bone marrow stem cell therapy. The cells are harvested directly from the patient and given back to the patient directly into the needed joints. (Companion Regenerative Therapies).
The second technology uses canine umbilical cord stem cells, provided by Animal Cell Therapies (ACT) and the cells are shipped directly to KIM and injected into the needed joint(s).
The third therapy extracts stem cells from the patients own fat then processed in the KIM lab and then injected back into the patient where needed.
A great benefit to these procedures is that they are readily available with sedation anesthesia combined with Acupuncture analgesia and offered on an out patient basis. Dr. Gerardi is a certified Veterinary Acupuncturist and Stem Cell Practitioner and offers these procedures in the Kindred-Canines In Motion, Wellness and Pain Management Clinic in New Bern, North Carolina. Dr. Gerardi is currently working on a Masters Program thesis with the Chi Veterinary Institute in Reddick Florida. KIM will conduct open clinical trial(s) addressing specific pain in dogs. Please follow us on the kindred-caninesinmotion.org website for more information and on the KIM Facebook page to see if your animal may be a candidate and benefit form the 2016-2017 pain management clinical trial(s).
