The next exciting step in regenerative therapies has Dr. Thomas Koch, Ontario Veterinary College, and his team encapsulating stem cells to see if they can enhance the effect of treatment. Horses with osteoarthritis in their joints stand to benefit from a therapy with a slower release time. “When you encapsulate the cells within hydrogel, you can keep the cells in the joint longer, and this may lead to better treatment outcomes,” explains Koch.
In this safety study, the researchers will be comparing the effect of injecting cells alone versus encapsulated cells.
Dr. Thomas Koch examining a horse’s fetlock.
Mesenchymal Stromal Cells (MSC) have been shown to alleviate pain in mild to moderate osteoarthritis of the fetlock joint. To date, these cells have been from single donor animals. In human medicine, there is work suggesting that combining cells from multiple donors produces a better product with more predictable functionality.