Gun Dog Forum

From the AKC Canine Health Foundation

Abstract
Cruciate rupture (CR) is a common degenerative condition of the canine knee (stifle). This economically important condition causes 20% of lameness in dogs and is disabling. Each knee contains two cruciate ligaments (cranial and caudal) that are located within the joint and stabilize the knee. Degeneration, fraying and progressive fiber rupture commonly affects both ligaments, but particularly the cranial or anterior cruciate ligament (ACL). Current surgical treatments are stabilization procedures that do not directly treat the damaged or ruptured ligament. Our main goal is to develop a safe and effective therapy that will prevent progressive tearing of ligament fibers, enable ligament healing, and block arthritis progression in affected dogs. To accomplish this goal, we will study a new regenerative medicine treatment using growth factors derived from a type of white blood cell, the platelet, concentrated from the patient's own blood. We will determine whether this treatment can promote cruciate healing and reduce progressive ligament rupture in dogs with early CR and clinically stable knees. This work promises a reduced need for surgical stabilization in dogs with late phase CR and an unstable knee. Effective treatment that prevents ligament rupture is not currently available. Completion of this work is expected to fill a knowledge gap regarding cruciate repair in CR-affected dogs that will be broadly applicable. This knowledge will also be used to develop a bioenhanced cruciate repair treatment for dogs with late phase CR and an unstable knee. Overall, this work promises improved outcomes for affected dogs.

The link : http://www.akcchf.org/research/funded-r ... /1762.html



.

Nice post Doc. Hopefully further study will ultimately help our dogs.

Very interesting post. Anything that can be done prophylactically would be great. I'm happy to say that my girl is her old self after 4 months of rehab.

Sharon,

I sent you a PM. My pointer (the excessively skinny one) has ruptured her ACL. I just wanted to ask you a couple of questions about your pup.

Thanks!

Elsa

Thanks for that post Doc. My dog came has been having problems after working and took him to hte vet last night and she said, now I am paraphrasing, the ligaments are going bad and that he has arthritis in the knee. That explained it to me and he is now retired becasue he is a little older,10, and I don't want to make him miserable in his senior years. Thanks for the info. Maybe something can be done. I would like to give him and me one more run.

Worth a try....my Ortho DVM did this free for me with my young dog's stifle injury. It's a simple procedure. Hopefully stem cell extraction will decrease in price as well.

We use Laser Therapy on horses all the time and it sure seems to help. We had a Vizsla impale herself, had a lung removed and completely reattached her pectoral muscles. We did laser therapy and she is back to 100%. it's hard to say how much it helped but it sure didn't hurt.