Stem cell therapy success in cats may benefit humans

10/02/2016

The UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine recently successfully treated a cat that suffered from feline chronic gingivostomatitis (FCGS),a painful oral inflammatory disorder.

The veterinary team decided torun a clinical trial using stem cell therapy.The method involves using the cat’s own fat-derived stem cells to reduce inflammation and encourage tissue regeneration.

UC Davis veterinary dental surgeon Boaz Arzistated: “This is the first study to demonstrate the safety and efficacy of using this type of stem cell therapy for a naturally occurring, chronic inflammatory disease in cats.” This approach does require a perfect stem cell match.

FCGS may also serve as a useful model for the treatment of human chronic oral inflammatory disease. UC Davis Health System dermatologist and dentist NasimFazel has been working in partnership with the veterinary medicinal team to carry out comparative studies in this field.

Fazel has recently submitted a grant to establish a human clinical trial, using mesenchymal stem cell therapy to treat oral lichen planus.

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.”

The best way to ensure the quality of stem cells is to source them from baby teeth, to avoid deterioration due to age or pollutants.The only painless and non-invasive way to harvest stem cells is from naturally shed teeth.