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Stem cell therapy treats chronic oral disease in cats
Cat dental
Vets used stem cell therapy to cure cats suffering from feline chronic gingivostomatitis. 
Trial offers hope for treatment in humans
 
A novel treatment has been used in the US to treat cats suffering from a painful oral disease.

In a clinical trial, veterinary dental surgeons at the the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine used stem cell therapy to cure cats suffering from feline chronic gingivostomatitis (FCGS).

The study is the first of its kind to prove the safety and efficacy of using stem cell therapy for the treatment of the condition.

Vets first became interested in running the trial after seeing several cases where cats had their teeth removed to treat FGCS.

Despite following up the removal with several courses of corticosteroids and antibiotics, the cats still experienced a great deal of pain and suffering.

“FCGS is a challenging disease to treat, and we were frustrated that some cats wouldn’t respond to traditional treatment,” said Boaz Arzi, lead author and veterinary dental surgeon at UC Davis. “We were banging our heads against the wall and this stem cell therapy was a last resort.”

The technique involved taking cat’s own fat-derived stem cells, processing and characterising them. The cells were then given back to the cats intravenously to reduce inflammation and promote tissue regeneration.

Scientists hope that FCGS also has the potential to serve as a useful model for the treatment of oral inflammatory disease in humans. Nasim Fazel, a dentist at the UC Davis Health system has been working with the veterinary team to perform comparative studies.

“I was really excited to hear about their work because the cat disease behaved very similarly to what i saw in my human patients, said Fazel.

Based in the success of this research, she recently submitted a grant to establish a human clinical trial to treat oral lichen plans - a similar chronic inflammatory disease in humans.

“We’re in desperate need of novel therapies to treat chronic inflammatory mucosal disorders such as OLP, which are challenging to treat and of major impact to patients’ quality of life,” Fazel said.

“Having this opportunity to translate what we’re learning in veterinary medicine to human medicine and working together to bring therapies discovered in the cat model to chronic oral inflammatory diseases in humans is exciting and has great potential.”

Results of the trial recently appeared the journal Stem Cells Translational Medicine

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Vets to run marathon for World Animal Protection

News Story 1
 Two recently graduated veterinary surgeons will be running the London Marathon in April to raise money for the charity World Animal Protection.

Alex Bartlett and Maeve O'Neill plan to run the race together if they are given the same start times.

Dr O'Neill said: "You're always limited in what you can do to help animals, so it is nice to raise money for a charity that helps animals around the world."

Dr Bartlett added: "I have never run a marathon before and am excited to run my first one for such a good cause!"

Both Dr Bartlett and Dr O'Neill have fundraising pages online. 

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News Shorts
BSAVA releases new Guide to Procedures

The British Small Animal Veterinary Association (BSAVA) has published a new edition of its Guide to Procedures for Small Animal Practice.

It has added four new procedures; cystostomy tube placement, endotracheal intubation, point-of-care ultrasound and wet-to-dry dressings.

BSAVA says that it is an essential step-by-step guide to diagnostic and therapeutic procedures performed in practice. The textbook includes new images and illustrations, as well as high-definition videos for use prior to procedures.

Nick Bexfield and Julia Riggs, editors of the new edition, said: "We have built upon the success of the previous editions by responding to the feedback received from the BSAVA readership, and hope this new guide helps to further increase the confidence and accuracy with which these procedures are performed."

Print copies are available in the BSAVA store, with a digital version in the BSAVA library.