With any new veterinary treatment approach there come research studies, experiences, and opinions about what works best and why. Stem cell therapy is no exception. One veterinarian recently reported that at least for tendon injuries, the cases practitioners choose to target with stem cells and how they prepare those cells have more bearing on treatment success than the stem cell source they select.

Roger KW Smith, VetMB, PhD, DEO, FHEA, DECVS, MRCVS, professor of Equine Orthopaedics at the Royal Veterinary College, in Hatfield, U.K., shared this and more about what he and his colleagues have learned about stem cell treatment at the 2014 American Association of Equine Practitioners Convention, held Dec. 6-10 in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) can come from a variety of sources, though practitioners most often use bone marrow or fat (also termed adipose-derived stem cells). Umbilical cord cells and fetal tendon cells have come on the scene more recently, he added.

Cells can come from the horse that’s being treated (autologous therapy) or from a bank (allogeneic), though veterinarians in the U.K. are restricted to autologous because the U.K. does not currently allow allogeneic stem use, as the United States does