Stem Cells Allow Quadriplegic Donkey to Walk Again

posted on Dec 29 by Admin in the Disability News, Fun, Health, Healthcare, Paralysis Cures, Spinal Cord Injury, Technology category

Eli the donkey is another noted case where animals have had success using adult stem cells to rehabilitate their mobility. The donkey became a quadriplegic due to an attack from a stable mate, leaving his spinal cord severely damaged. Two weeks after Eli’s injury he could not lift his head and developed pneumonia, resulting in near death.

Many believe his case worsened due to receiving a poor prognosis by Dr. Mike Kistler, who believed Eli would not survive. Dr. Mike Kistler has had years of training and experience in human spinal trauma whom stated, “In a human, a comparable injury would have been sustained by diving into shallow water, and the majority of those injuries would have a poor prognosis, with paralysis.”

A pioneer in the veterinary use of adult stem cells, Dr. Doug Herthel, D.V.M., began to treat Eli with adult mesenchymal stem cells. Because of Eli’s condition being so harsh, Dr. Doug Herthel believed he did not have time to gather and process Eli’s own bone marrow adult stem cells. The time limitation pushed Herthel to use adult stem cells from a thoroughbred racehorse.

Herthel said, “Mesenchymal stem cells can selectively target injured tissue and promote functional recovery. They can be attracted to damaged tissue by chemical signals released from damaged cells.” Within 48 hours, Eli was given more stem cell treatments, and Herthel saw improvements in the donkey. Two months after his accident, attendants found Eli standing in his stall.

“We couldn’t figure out how he got up. So we went back and looked at the [intensive care unit] video, and we saw him get up on his own. It wasn’t pretty, but he got up, and that’s what counts. After that third treatment, he just got better and better, and his muscle mass came back.”