Dr. Larry Snyder, who has hosted Ask the Doctor on this forum, treated a giraffe at the Topeka Zoo with stem cells. Now, this black bear is undergoing therapy.
http://cjonline.com/news/2015-02-02/topeka-zoos-bear-gets-ct-scan-stem-cell-therapy
Peek is undergoing treatment for back condition
Posted: February 2, 2015
By Ann Marie Bush
ann.bush@cjonline.com
Peek, a 20-year-old American Black Bear living at the Topeka Zoo, is undergoing treatment, including a CT scan, for a back condition, zoo director Brendan Wiley said Monday.
Peek came out of her den two weeks ago and her keeper noticed the bear’s hind legs were wobbly. Peek was given pain medication. However, the condition quickly worsened, Wiley said in a news release.
Within the next seven days, Peek continued to lose control of her rear legs.
“One of the unique things about this scenario is that Peek hasn’t acted like anything is hurting her,” said Shanna Simpson, animal care supervisor. “It is like the front half of her body can no longer communicate with the back half.”
Peek’s illness required the use of a CT scan, which used equipment the zoo doesn’t have, Wiley said.
Zoo veterinarian Shirley Llizo brought in Larry Snyder and Travis Gratton, of University Bird and Small Animal Hospital, to help harvest fat cells from Peek. This would allow the fat cells to be converted to stem cells to be injected.
Peek was tranquilized Jan. 22 and transported to the zoo’s hospital so the fat cells could be harvested. After the harvest, Peek was transported to St. Francis Health Center, where she was met by Brent Wilkins, director of imaging services, and his staff.
After confirming Peek would fit in the 72-centimeter CT scanner, Wilkins was able to do the scan, and radiologist James Owen found an area of Peek’s spine was experiencing spinal stenosis. This is a narrowing of the spinal column that causes pressure on the spinal cord, according to zoo officials.
“Our first priority is human patient safety and access,” Wilkins said. “We work with the Topeka Zoo to accommodate animals that need CT scans in off hours when one of our CT scanners is available. We made sure the bear was separated from any other patients and performed a high-level decontamination and cleaning of the area, called a terminal cleaning, after the bear’s visit. We’re very happy to help our friends at the zoo in keeping the animals healthy.”
After the CT scan, Peek went back to the zoo, where she received the stem cell therapy. Stem cell therapy treatment in bears is new technology, Wiley said.
“It is believed that Peek is the first bear to undergo this type of therapy,” Wiley said in a news release. “In the event Peek should need a second round of stem cell therapy, a cryogenic lab in Kentucky is maintaining the rest of the sample that was produced from Peek’s fat cells.”
Last week, Peek showed her first sign of improvement. However, she is still considered to have a poor prognosis, Llizo said.
“The small improvement we are seeing now is beginning to give us some hope and allows us to consider other surgical options,” Llizo said. “We are incredibly indebted to St. Francis Health Center and University Bird and Small Animal Hospital for their help in managing this case.”
http://cjonline.com/news/2015-02-02/topeka-zoos-bear-gets-ct-scan-stem-cell-therapy
Peek is undergoing treatment for back condition
Posted: February 2, 2015
By Ann Marie Bush
ann.bush@cjonline.com
Peek, a 20-year-old American Black Bear living at the Topeka Zoo, is undergoing treatment, including a CT scan, for a back condition, zoo director Brendan Wiley said Monday.
Peek came out of her den two weeks ago and her keeper noticed the bear’s hind legs were wobbly. Peek was given pain medication. However, the condition quickly worsened, Wiley said in a news release.
Within the next seven days, Peek continued to lose control of her rear legs.
“One of the unique things about this scenario is that Peek hasn’t acted like anything is hurting her,” said Shanna Simpson, animal care supervisor. “It is like the front half of her body can no longer communicate with the back half.”
Peek’s illness required the use of a CT scan, which used equipment the zoo doesn’t have, Wiley said.
Zoo veterinarian Shirley Llizo brought in Larry Snyder and Travis Gratton, of University Bird and Small Animal Hospital, to help harvest fat cells from Peek. This would allow the fat cells to be converted to stem cells to be injected.
Peek was tranquilized Jan. 22 and transported to the zoo’s hospital so the fat cells could be harvested. After the harvest, Peek was transported to St. Francis Health Center, where she was met by Brent Wilkins, director of imaging services, and his staff.
After confirming Peek would fit in the 72-centimeter CT scanner, Wilkins was able to do the scan, and radiologist James Owen found an area of Peek’s spine was experiencing spinal stenosis. This is a narrowing of the spinal column that causes pressure on the spinal cord, according to zoo officials.
“Our first priority is human patient safety and access,” Wilkins said. “We work with the Topeka Zoo to accommodate animals that need CT scans in off hours when one of our CT scanners is available. We made sure the bear was separated from any other patients and performed a high-level decontamination and cleaning of the area, called a terminal cleaning, after the bear’s visit. We’re very happy to help our friends at the zoo in keeping the animals healthy.”
After the CT scan, Peek went back to the zoo, where she received the stem cell therapy. Stem cell therapy treatment in bears is new technology, Wiley said.
“It is believed that Peek is the first bear to undergo this type of therapy,” Wiley said in a news release. “In the event Peek should need a second round of stem cell therapy, a cryogenic lab in Kentucky is maintaining the rest of the sample that was produced from Peek’s fat cells.”
Last week, Peek showed her first sign of improvement. However, she is still considered to have a poor prognosis, Llizo said.
“The small improvement we are seeing now is beginning to give us some hope and allows us to consider other surgical options,” Llizo said. “We are incredibly indebted to St. Francis Health Center and University Bird and Small Animal Hospital for their help in managing this case.”