The body has an amazing capacity to heal itself. Regenerative medicine describes a group of processes that harness the natural ability of the body and enhances or concentrates it.
Platelets
When the body becomes injured, a natural healing process occurs to repair the damaged tissue.
The body naturally signals platelets and other components in the blood supply to migrate to the injury site. Under normal conditions, these platelets release a variety of factors that initiate and subsequently promote healing. Platelets play a prominent role in blood clotting (hemostasis).
Platelets also contain a variety of growth factors that enhance wound healing and induce tissue regeneration. These growth factors include
- platelet-derived growth factor
- transforming growth factor beta
- fibroblast growth factor
- insulin-like growth factor 1
- epithelial growth factor
- and vascular endothelial growth factor
Platelet therapy (Platelet Rich Plasma/PRP)
Platelet therapy harnesses and concentrates platelets and introduces them to the injury site in an injectable form.
The implantation of these platelets from a small amount of the patient’s own blood has the potential to enhance the body’s capacity for healing.
That’s why this cell therapy is “autologous.” The patient receives treatment that originated from their own body.
Autologous platelets
Autologous platelet therapies offer low risk, but platelet therapies from a donor patient are prone to have high-risk factors.
Even if the donor is a sibling or parent of the recipient, the chance for a reaction is high. As a veterinarian, I would not recommend using platelet therapy from a donor patient.
How does it work
Injecting platelets into injured tissue reawakens the body’s healing capacity.
Platelets would normally migrate to the location of acute trauma and stimulate healing on their own. But tendons and ligaments, joint capsules, and cartilage have a very poor blood supply, limiting platelet migration.
Injecting the platelets directly into the affected area attracts other healing cells and stimulates local tissue repair.
Injected platelets attach to injured collagen fibers and then release healing proteins called growth factors. The growth factors initiate and activate healing. In short, they are the body’s response to trauma.
Medical benefits
Platelet-derived growth factors offer the following medical benefits:
- Stem Cell Attractant: PRP attracts stem cells to an injury to optimize the healing process;
- Vascular growth factors stimulate new blood vessels;
- Epithelial growth factors stimulate new tissue;
- Transforming growth factors stimulate ligament, tendon, cartilage and joint capsule healing;
- Cellular adhesion molecules create a structural matrix for new connective tissue, bone, and epithelial cells.
Platelet therapy can treat various medical conditions.
Platelet therapy is a proven and effective option for treating acute and chronic cases of:
This easy, minimally invasive, same-day procedure promotes healing and reduces pain. Depending on your dog’s needs, your veterinarian might use it alone or in conjunction with other treatments.
There are many platelet therapy options available, so evaluating or choosing a system can sometimes be daunting.
The most important things to look for are:
- validation for the species
- is the platelet concentration adequate
In some cases, a filtration system, such as the V-PETTM, is gentler on the platelets and preventing the platelets from activation before injection into the injured area.
Contact with the site of injury activates the platelets to release their growth factors.
Platelet Therapy can be useful for different clinical conditions with different outcome goals, including
- hemostasis
- angiogenesis
- functional recovery in musculoskeletal conditions
So far, thousands of patients have benefited from Platelet therapy. Platelet therapy acceptance into veterinary medicine stems from its:
- safety profile
- ease of use
- and effectiveness
Related articles:
Is PRP Treatment for Dogs Too Expensive: Platelet-Rich Plasma Treatment—Is It Worth It?
Evaluating PRP Treatment for Dogs: Platelet-Rich Plasma Treatment (PRP) for Partial Cranial Cruciate Ligament (CCL) Tears—Would I Do It Again?
Platelet-Rich Plasma (PRP) Treatment for Cookie’s Bad Knee(s)
Further reading:
Platelet-Rich Plasma: New Treatment Option for Dogs with Lameness