Stem-cell research is benefiting at least one living creature in Marin County, who would otherwise be living in excruciating athritic pain.

Emma -- the snow-white German shepherd.

Vets at the Northbay Animal Hospital injected the dog with stem cells into 10 of her joints, according to the Marin Independent Journal. The $2,000 treatment has given the 9-year old, 80-pound dog a new lease on live, her owners say.

"She doesn't limp any more," said owner Arthur Latno, in comments to the newspaper, "and she doesn't cry."

Latno is "one of the first" Marin pet owners to try the cutting-edge treatment, which not every vet is willing to endorse, the newspaper reported.

"This (the stem cell procedure) is incredibly promising, but on the other hand there is a lot of homework that needs to be done to determine whether these are valid therapeutic measures," John Peroni, an associate professor at the University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine and chairman of the North American Veterinary Regenerative Medicine Association told the newspaper.

More studies, like the ones Peroni as well as counterparts at UC Davis are conducting, are neeed, he said.

Visit link:
Marin Dog Receives Relief From Stem Cell Treatment