Laboratory

The body of the horse, as well as people and other animals, is designed to heal.  In fact, there are more cells, molecules, enzymes, and particles in the body whose purpose is to heal than any other type of entity.  Medicine is learning to use the animal’s own body when that body needs to heal.  The body entities which can heal the body are called regenerative “re” meaning again, “generative” meaning to grow.   Molecules and proteins made by the body to heal, are in the circulating blood which is collected, then processed to concentrate the healing agent.  That concentrate is then injected back into the body.   Some of the blood products are best for joints, other products for decreasing the pain from inflammation, some for wound or corneal ulcer healing, and many more are still being researched.

Platelet Rich Plasma, PRP, is the concentration of platelets with the removal of white cells and red cells.  Platelets are not cells. They are smaller  than cells and contain growth factors. “Growth factors” are proteins or small molecules secreted by cells that stimulate cell growth, proliferation, differentiation, and migration by binding to specific receptors on the cell surface. Essentially they act as signaling molecules that regulate various cellular processes within an organism.  They play crucial roles in development, tissue repair, and wound healing. We collect circulating blood then it is centrifuged; separating blood into red blood cells, white cells, platelet poor plasma, and platelet rich plasma (PRP).   (Note the variation in centrifugation systems will give a different percent yield and diversity of platelets, thus not all PRP is the same). Used for wound healing and most often in joints with osteoarthritis, platelets stimulate healing of the joint tissues.  Procedure at Colorado Equine Clinic is usually one treatment into the effected joint for clinical results that remove the discomfort for years.   Under good management, rarely does treatment ever need to be repeated, and we have over 18 years of experience using of this product on over 500 patients.

A recently used regenerative product is a molecule, alphamacroglobulin, A2M.  It is very multifunctional, one function being the trapping of proteases and enzymes, which are released during inflammation.  When a part of the body is injured, pain occurs because of inflammation. Inflammation releases proteases which in turn cause more pain.  In addition, the environment has additional abnormal molecules which deter natural healing from occurring.  Removal of proteases has shown to improve the environment, allowing the healing agents such as “growth factors” to function.  Presently A2M is used in a joint or tendon.  Our results show significant decrease in pain, swelling, and lameness in joints (most notably in tendons).  Recommended use for either tissue is one/two treatments.  Use of A2 for the treatment of laminitis is showing very promising results for decreasing pain in these patients.

Thanks to the involvement and research done by Dr. Page, we understand that healing needs to remove the chemical debris and proteases in the area of inflammation before the healing agents such as platelets can be fully functional.  Thus, we  combine alphamacroglobulin  with the platelets giving improved and longer lasting results from our injections.

The area of regenerative medicine is growing tremendously as is our knowledge of various products and their best uses.  We welcome any questions you may have.

– Barbara T. Page, DVM, IVCA